Pancakes at Dawn
by BeautifulDreamer.x
Summary: Draco Malfoy needed a break. Desperate to cut loose away from the idiots at the Daily Prophet who liked to follow him with cameras, his best friend Theo ropes him and several work colleagues in for a night out in muggle London. Dramione.
1. Chapter 1

**Pancakes at Dawn.**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. My own characters are my own creation and any relation to any persons living or dead is coincidental.**

* * *

Draco Malfoy needed a break. Desperate to cut loose away from the idiots at the Daily Prophet who liked to follow him with cameras, his best friend Theo ropes him and several work colleagues in for a night out in muggle London. Dramione.

Draco Malfoy sighed running a hand through his silky blonde locks. Another day had gone by without much progress and it was starting to infuriate him. Emerald Potion Supplies was one of the leading potion distributors for the entire wizarding community in Britain and he had worked hard for the past three years to get to where he was today. The company which he co-owned with his best friend and business partner, Theodore Nott was thriving and he was glad of that fact. However, each potion took time to make and as the potions were handmade to ensure quality, the company was struggling to meet demand. They owned a small store in Diagon Alley which focused on general public sale and a large office with a potions laboratory in London which Draco spent most of his time at. With a limited number of staff, there just wasn't enough hours in the day or hands on deck to meet the demand. Draco had thought about hiring several other members of staff but he just didn't have the time to train them adequately for potion making. He already had three potion makers underneath him who were exceptional wizards and two witches and a wizard working in the store in Diagon Alley. They would have to suffice for now.

"Drake, you in here?"

Draco looked up to see Theo enter his office and smiled slightly.

"What are you still doing here?" asked Draco, glancing up at the clock on the wall. It was unusual for Theo to still be in the office after closing time. "Shouldn't you have left by now?"

"I came to make sure you were actually going to go home this evening." replied Theo with a raise of his eyebrow as he walked towards Draco's desk, leaning against it. Draco sighed.

"We're falling behind again." He lifted two sheets of paper which were filled with potion lists. "Someone has to keep working on these."

"Bullshit. The business won't explode if you have a night off."

"Nott-"

"Enough. The lads are still downstairs. I say we all need to blow off some steam. How does drinks in the Leaky sound?"

"Awful," said Draco with a grimace. "Crap alcohol and Prophet idiots everywhere trying to shove a camera in my face. I think I'll pass."

"Muggle London it is then." Theo smirked. "Now, I know you need to make yourself pretty-"

"Not as much as you do, Nott-"

"...So go home and get ready. You have an hour and then we'll meet at your place."

"I really don't think we have time for this." Draco said, ever the level headed one. He and Theo made good business partners even though both men were vastly different people. Draco was more business orientated and knew that it required work to keep it running. After the events of the war, he remained as the heir of the Malfoy estate but things were no longer handed to him on a silver platter, no matter the amount of money he could pass over. The Malfoy name no longer had as much power as it once had and Draco had learned to work his way to the top again using his own skill and effort. Theo however wasn't as badly effected after the war and had ploughed his money into the business for the fun of it. He was mostly along for the ride, even if he was very good at potion making.

"It's not negotiable, Drake. You need this. We all need this. We've been working so damn hard this week we deserve a break."

"Fine," Draco huffed, knowing it was no use arguing with him. He had known Theo all his life and he was stubborn as a mule when he got an idea in his head. "My floo will be open."

"Good," Theo span on his heels and wandered out the door, calling back to Draco who remained in his seat. "Make yourself beautiful for me, Malfoy!"

Draco rolled his eyes and stood up, pushing his chair away from him with his legs before heading for the floo in his office, glancing back once at the paperwork on his desk. With a sigh,he picked up the floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. He would just have to come in early tomorrow morning.

* * *

Draco was just buttoning up his dark blue shirt when the floo came to life in his living room, signalling Theo's arrival.

"Honey, I'm home!"

Draco rolled his eyes at the sound of his best friends voice and stepped out of his bedroom, coming face to face with Theo.

"Where are the others?" asked Draco, half expecting Theo to have duped him just to get him to leave the office.

"Coming through any second I expect." Theo popped the collar of Draco's shirt with a smirk. "Don't you look dashing!"

Draco smoothed his collar down again, swatting Theo's hands away just as the Floo roared to life, the green flames spitting out a young man with shaggy black hair who was dressed smartly in a blue shirt and dress pants.

"Alright Jack?" asked Draco who was hopping on one foot, slipping the other into one of his more expensive black leather shoes.

Jack Quinn was a half-blood who had worked with Draco and Theo as a potioneer for the past two and a half years. He was brilliant at what he did and was one of Draco's trusted friends. He didn't exactly have many of those these days. After the events of the war, Draco distanced himself from many of the people he had once known as friends. The likes of Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Marcus Flint still believed in the old pureblood ways, Ways which Draco no longer condoned. In fact, two of Draco's best friends were muggle borns and they were two of the nicest men he had ever met and were more than capable of holding their own against pureblood wizards and witches.

"Not bad, Drake. Not bad." grinned Jack, running a hand through his shaggy black hair.

"How are you getting on with that big batch of Dreamless?" asked Draco, knowing that a company in Glasgow had commissioned seven batches of Dreamless Sleep potion which was taking Jack some time to brew.

"Pretty good. The last cauldron was brewed today so I moved on to the -"

"Enough work talk!" Theo snapped interrupting the pair. "This is meant to be a night for unwinding away from the stresses of work. God you pair are boring."

The floo roared to life once more and two men stepped out of the green flames this time, one after the other. The first was a tall, well groomed man with short brown hair and broad shoulders. He had a pair a black rimmed glasses settled on his nose and was dressed in a semi casual grey t-shirt with a pair of black trousers. Even in something so casual, he looked so well dressed and put together. He had some slight stubble forming on his chin, making him appear more rugged than he was. Behind him was a man around the same height with a slightly slimmer build. He had short dark brown hair and looked slightly younger than the first man, Although he was slimmer, his biceps bulged against the material of the checked shirt he wore.

"Finally!" called Nott once the floo had stopped. "You bunch of ladies took your time getting ready."

"Clearly we're not all as naturally beautiful as you, Nott." smirked the first man with a snort.

"Hardly anyone is, Andrew." replied Theo with a chuckle.

Andrew grinned at him and pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"So where are we going anyway?" he asked.

"Muggle London." said Draco. "You know any good places?"

Andrew shook his head.

"What about you, James?" All four men turned to look at the man who had entered the room behind Andrew, who was now leaning against the wall. The man smirked.

"I know just the place."

"No stripclubs!" Andrew shouted his protest at his friend before before he was being dragged towards the door of Draco's apartment.

* * *

Draco stumbled out of a pub along the Thames and looked back at Theo who was being escorted out by bouncers.

"Hey! Get your bloody hands off me!"

"Why was this your brilliant idea, James?" Draco asked turning to look at his friend who was laughing, clutching at his sides at the sight of Theo being manhandled.

"Hey, I just wanted to give you guys the experience of a proper London boozer. How was I meant to know that Theo would start a fight with the barman over _'his shit taste in alcohol'_ and get use all kicked out, the bloody idiot." James chuckled.

"So now what?" asked Jack, looking around to try and figure out where they were.

"How about we head down near the river? There are bound to be some decent bars down there?"

"Why not," sighed Draco. "What else could bloody happen tonight."

* * *

Draco stepped inside a particularly lively bar that was packed with people. He glanced around quickly before spotting the bar which was lined with stools. He and James forced their way through the crowd, reaching the bar first.

"Five glasses of your finest whiskey please, love." grinned James at the pretty blonde barmaid.

She smiled back at him, fluttering her eyelashes. "Sure thing."

Jack reached the bar next, tapping Draco on the shoulder.

"Have you seen that group of women over there?" He gestured to the corner of the bar where there were six woman sitting in a large booth, the table filled with jugs and glasses which had obviously contained cocktails. Draco took a good look at them and he was intrigued. There were four brunettes and two blondes and he continued to watch them as he took a gulp of the whiskey James had handed him.

Theo suddenly appeared beside him with a glass of whiskey for himself.

"Pwoar, now we're talking." He grinned staring at the table. "Don't mind if I do."

"Which one?" Andrew asked him.

Theo appeared to think for a moment before smirking. "All six of them."

Draco laughed out loud at that, patting his best friend of the shoulder. "Keep dreaming, Mate. You couldn't handle them all at once. They look like a rowdy bunch."

"Well, I think I could handle at least three of them and now is my chance." said Theo as he drained the last of his glass. "Because three of them are headed our way."

Draco glanced back at the table and sure enough, he noticed that three of the woman had stood up and were headed for the bar where they were standing. Two of the woman were brunette, the first in a blood red dress which rested at mid thigh with thin spaghetti straps. Her hair was long and in ringlets down her back and her hips swayed as she walked. She was flanked by a beautiful blonde woman, slender and a lot more skin showing than the first woman. Her midriff was showing thanks to the black crop top she was wearing and her hair was pulled up into a messy up-do. She look rather lively as she danced her way to the bar, giggling and laughing as the woman behind her twirled her around. The brunette in front of her turned and laughed with her friends. The final woman was also a brunette, slightly taller than the other two. Her long dark hair was straight and her curves were obvious in the tight black pants she was wearing.

Draco's eyes trailed back to the woman at the front. He was fixated on her even from this distance. He watched as she squeezed through crowds, finally making her way to the bar, resting her hands on the bar as she waiting for a bartender to become available.

"Ladies!" All three woman turned to face Theo who was staring at them with a wide grin. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"That would be lovely," smiled the blonde who stepped closer to him. Draco smirked as he watched Theo's eyes trail up and down the blonde's figure.

"And what might your name be beautiful?" asked Theo, taking her hand in his.

"Ashleigh Foster," she responded, giggling as he brought her hand up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss against her knuckles. "What a gentleman."

"It's a pleasure." said Theo. "Now, what can I get you and your friends to drink?"

Draco chuckled to himself and drained the remaining liquid in his glass, turning back to look in the direction of the bar staff.

"I'll have a Strawberry Daiquiri please," he heard Ashleigh say to Theo. "Becks? Mione? What do you two want?"

Draco's head snapped up at that. _Did she just say-_

He stood up straight and looked across at the brunette who was leaning against the bar, messing with her bracelet on her wrist. He kicked himself for not recognizing her. She was older, more mature but he could see it.

"Granger?" he blurted out before he could stop himself. She looked across at him, her eyes widening as they locked with his, noticing him for the first time. That told him all he needed to know. It was her.

She gasped.

"Malfoy?"

* * *

 **This is a new Dramione story that has been sitting as a plot in my writing journal for months. Today, I finally started writing it.** **It won't be a super long story but will have a couple of chapters at least.** **This has not been BETA'd. I'm currently looking for a beta so if you're interested, send me a message! Leave a review and let me know your thoughts.**

 **-Dreamer.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Pancakes at Dawn**  
 **Chapter Two**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All original characters are my own creation and any relation to any persons living or dead is simply coincidence.**

* * *

"Did you just say Granger?" asked Theo, who was now staring at Draco in confusion. "As in, _Hermione Granger_?"

Draco ignored him and continued to stare at the woman in front of him. He still couldn't believe she was standing here. Hermione Granger had been missing for the past three years and a large operation had been spearheaded by the Ministry for her safe return, headed of corse by the golden boy himself, Harry Potter. There had been no sign of her and by now, many magical folk had assumed she was dead. He knew that Potter had never given up hope of finding her and to this day, there were still posters of her face as she had been when he had last seen her, young ,barely eighteen with a head of bushy brown hair. The woman in front of him looked completely different to the girl in those pictures. Her hair was sleek and her face was full of make up however he could still see her. He gave her a smile and offered her his hand.

"Care to come for a chat?" Draco asked her, genuinely interested to hear where she had been and what she was doing here. She looked at him for a few seconds in silence before shaking her head.

"I'm not sure that is such a good idea, Malfoy."

"I'm asking for a chat, Granger, not your bloody hand in marriage."

He smirked at her when she laughed despite herself, shaking her head at him.

"Hermione? Is everything alright?" asked the brunette woman behind her, now looking at him with a strange expression on her face.

"Everything is fine, love." Theo assured her from Ashleigh's side, glancing between Draco and Hermione with strange fascination..

"Hermione?" pressed the tall brunette, looking concerned for her friend.

"Everything is fine, Becks." Hermione gave a small smile and took her hand, giving it a small squeeze of reassurance. Once her hand was free, she lifted her purse from her bag, Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a twenty pound note and handed it over. "Go grab some drinks for the girls. I'll be over in a minute."

"If you're sure you'll be okay?"

"I'm positive," Hermione replied with a nod, glancing back at Draco.

"Ash, you coming?" the brunette asked the blonde who shook her head.

"I'll catch up, Rebecca." replied Ashleigh, tucking a strand of stray blonde hair behind her ear as she continued to stare at Theo with a flirty smile. When he grinned back at her, charming as ever, she spoke. "Now, about that drink?"

Rebecca cast a final glance at Hermione before wandering down the bar to find a member of staff who wasn't already occupied.

Draco's eyes were still locked on Hermione, watching as she smoothed down the front of her blood red dress. She glanced up at him and sighed.

"If you want to talk then we can talk, Malfoy but not here."

"Where?" he asked, offering her his hand once more.

"Outside." she said. This time, she took his hand and began to walk, leading him towards the door.

"Keep an eye on Theo. I'll be back." Draco muttered to James on his way past, giving him a pat on the shoulder as a parting gift.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing here, Malfoy?"

Hermione had dragged him into the alley behind the bar where it was quiet, only the distant thumping of the music could be heard from inside the building. The minute she had let go of his hand, she span around and crossed her arms across her chest, raising an eyebrow at him. He thought she looked delectable like this, arms crossed, legs slightly apart and _those heels_ -

"Malfoy!" Hermione's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"I don't think my being here is the strange thing, Granger." He responded with a pointed look. "Or am I missing something? Have you not been missing, presumed dead by the Ministry of Magic for the past three years?"

"That's not your concern." she snapped.

"I'm betting Saint Potter would be shocked to see you here, alive and perfectly well yet somewhat tipsy. What do you think he would say? His golden girl running off to get drunk in some muggle club."

"It's _not_ your concern so leave it, Malfoy." Her teeth were ground together now and she looked like she wanted to clock him straight in the jaw.

"Relax Granger." said Draco. "I'm not about to turn you in. If you want to live your life away from Potter and Weasel, who am I to judge?"

She seemed to soften at his words and she let out a small sigh, screwing her eyes closed for a second. When she opened them, she found his deep grey ones staring back at her intensely.

"I just wanted to be free." she said simply, looking at the ground, angry at herself for even being here in front of him. Draco understood her words more than she knew.

"Don't we all." he replied, cocking his head to the side as he continued to stare at her.

"It wasn't to do with Harry and Ron, for your information. It was the wizarding world but it's a long story and something I would rather not discuss with the likes of you." barked Hermione.

"Ouch." chuckled Draco, hand on his chest feigning chest pains. "How about you come back inside and I'll buy you a drink?"

"No thank you. I think I'll just stay out here and get some fresh air."

"Is that a good idea?" Draco glanced warily around them, the alley dark and unnerving.

"I can take care of myself." she insisted with a shrug.

"I don't doubt you can, Granger." He said with a smirk. He bent down to the ground and picked up a small rounded pebble. He cast a quick ' _Scourgify'_ before he transformed the rock into a black suit jacket, something very similar to many he had in his wardrobe at home. He took a step closer to her and placed it gently around her bare shoulders. She reached up and pulled her hair from inside the jacket, looking up at him. "It's cold out."

"Thank you," mumbled Hermione and he nodded his head.

"When you're ready, I'll be inside."

With that, he turned and began to walk away. After a few steps, he turned to look at her while walking backwards, a small smile creeping onto his face.

"Oh and Granger?"

"Yes?"

"You look bloody fantastic."

His smile turned into a smirk and he left the alley, leaving Hermione to stare after him. She could feel her cheeks burning and she knew she was blushing. Letting out a breath she didn't even notice she was holding, she pulled the jacket tighter around her. He was right, it was cold out. A small smile emerged as she thought of him and she felt her stomach flutter. Looking up at the night sky which was clear and full of stars, she sucked in a breath and followed after him.

* * *

Hermione stepped back inside the buzzing bar, glancing around through the sea of people for a face she recognized. She found his blonde head quicker than she wanted to and let out a sigh. She noticed he was surrounded by a group of men on bar stools and in the middle of them was Ashleigh, her closest friend who had seemed to take a liking to one of Malfoy's friends. She wandered across the crowded dance floor and heard her friend shout across to her.

"Hermione! There you are!"

"Ash? Shouldn't you be back with the girls?"

"I probably should but they're all having way too much fun over there." She pointed over to the table where her four other friends were laughing over a shared cocktail pitcher. "And I was having _way_ to much fun with Theo over here."

"Evening Granger," he smirked at her and Hermione noticed him for the first time. Her best friend had taken a fancy to Theodore Nott, pureblood Slytherin.

"Theodore." she answered stiffly to which he rolled his eyes.

"Please, it's Theo," he insisted. "Only my father calls me Theodore.""

"Very well."

"Theo was just telling me how you know each other from school and Draco-" Ashleigh began but was cut off.

"-Has got you a drink," A deep voice from her left side said and she turned her head to see Draco handing her a glass filled with red liquid and ice. She took it from him, looking up at him with a confused look.

"Vodka and Cranberry?" she asked and he nodded.

"Ashleigh told me it was your favourite."

"Thank you," she said, a shy smile making it's way onto her face.

"Come and sit down with us," Ashleigh said to both of them. "There is plenty of room in our booth."

"We wouldn't want to intrude and our friends are probably waiting for us to move." said Draco, motioning to the three men who were now slightly further up the bar who were mid-conversation.

"Don't be silly!" the blonde replied. "They're more than welcome to join us too. The more the merrier, right Hermione?"

Ashleigh turned to Hermione and looked at her pointedly, clearly nudging her head in Theo's direction. Hermione took a sip of her drink and rolled her eyes at her friend attempting to be subtle. She glanced across in Draco's direction for a second before nodding her head.

"Of corse." she agreed, smiling at both Draco and Theo.

"Great! Then it's settled." grinned Theo, slipping an arm around Ashleigh's slender waist. He turned his attention to his three other friends. "Oi!"

James looked up first and hopped off the bar stool, his drink sloshing in the glass as he did."What are you shouting about?"

"Grab your drinks," said Theo." We're moving."

He pointed to the booth where the four women were sitting. Jack, Andrew and James squeezed between Draco and Hermione and began to follow Theo and Ashleigh through the crowd of grinding bodies. Draco began to walk until he felt a hand grab at his arm. He looked around to see Hermione gripping him.

"Granger?"

She took a step closer to him.

"They're muggles, Malfoy." She said in a low voice which he struggled to hear over the pounding music. "They don't know about me."

He nodded. "Understood. Like I said before, Granger. I'm not here to disrupt things. I'm just here to enjoy a drink with my friends."

"Ash seems to have got rather attached to Theo-"

"Granger, you have nothing to worry about. He's a flirt but he is harmless. He won't hurt her."

"But he's a pureblood and she's a-"

"A muggle?" he said, raising his eyebrow. Hermione's eyes drifted down to the ground. "Do you think if that mattered we would be here in a muggle bar? He doesn't believe in that bullshit any more. _I_ don't believe in that bullshit any more."

Her eyes trailed up to meet his once more and as she stared, she felt herself getting lost in them.

"I'm not the same man I was. That's not how I think any more." He reached down and tucked her hair behind her ear with a small smile, his fingertips ghosting across her cheek.

"I can see that." she said quietly, her mouth curving upward.

"Now come," said Draco, slipping his hand into hers. "I'd like to meet the rest of your friends."

With a small nod, she took a sip of her drink before she began to negotiate the crowd, trying not the spill any liquid from her glass with Draco following close behind her.

* * *

 **Here is Chapter Two. Let me know what you think by leaving a review.**

 **-Dreamer**


	3. Chapter 3

Pancakes at Dawn  
Chapter Three

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Original characters are my own creation and any relation to any person is coincidental.

* * *

Draco watched her closely as she finished her third Vodka and Cranberry. She was giggling with her friends and he couldn't help but think she looked more at ease here than he had ever seen her with Potter and Weasley. Her friends seemed lovely too and seemed to care for her. He glanced around the table, noticing his friends mingling well with hers. It was an interesting sight to see.

James had taken a fancy to Rebecca and the pair were chatting, both with wide smiles on their faces. Theo had his fingers wound in Ashleigh's blonde hair, his lips pressed against hers and they didn't look like they were coming up for air any time soon. Andrew had dragged another of Hermione's friends, Danielle, a brunette with thick curly hair, onto the dance floor and they both seemed to be having fun. The song changed over the speakers and an up-beat dance number began. Zoe, the blonde woman with her hair pulled into a ponytail who sat closest to Hermione grinned and stood up, setting her glass down on the table in front of her.

"This is your favourite song, Mione." said Zoe. "Come and dance!"

Hermione's eyes glanced across at Draco and she smiled at him before looking back at Zoe who was staring back, expectantly.

"No, I'm fine. You two go." Hermione told her, motioning to the black haired woman with her hair cut short to her shoulders, Holly.

"You sure?" asked Zoe and Hermione nodded.

"I'm sure."

Sticking her tongue out playfully, Zoe giggled. "Spoilsport."

"Go have fun!" Hermione laughed as Zoe and Holly stood up before surrounding Jack who was sitting on a stool on the outside of the bench.

"Fine, but we're not going alone!" grinned Zoe. They both held their hands out for him.

"Dance with us?" asked Holly with a small smile.

Jack gladly took each hand and stood up. He twirled them both around and heading for the dance floor.

Draco slid along the booth to close the gap between himself and Hermione. Her eyes moved to him when she noticed the movement and a small smile slipped on her face.

"Drink?" asked Draco, motioning to her empty glass.

"That would be lovely." she nodded and they both slipped out of the booth, leaving Theo and Ashleigh tangled up in each other.

* * *

"Your friends seem nice." said Hermione taking a drink from her glass as they sat on stools by the bar.

"They are." Draco nodded his head.

"Where did you meet them?"

"At work." replied Draco. "They work with me."

"What is it that you do now?" asked Hermione, looking genuinely interested. As she sat on the stool, she crossed one leg across the other and Draco found himself staring at her long tanned legs for a split second before answering her question.

"Theo and I own our own potions business."

"That figures." responded Hermione with a grin.

"Oh really?" Draco quirked an eyebrow at her in response.

"Well you were always so far up Snape's arse in school, it's hardly surprising that it's your career choice, is it?"

She was laughing now and he found himself chuckling along with her.

"That was uncalled for," Draco said through his laughter.

She shrugged her shoulder. "Uncalled for but very true."

"Touché, Granger."

She smirked and took the remaining sip of her drink, shifting slightly in her chair.

Draco rolled his eyes at her as his laughter began to cease. "Just what is it that the fantastic Hermione Granger does now?"

"Nothing very interesting," she told him with a sigh. "Can't exactly put my N.E.W.T results on my application for a muggle job so I had to start fresh. To keep a very long story short, I currently work at an awful little office not that far from here actually with an awful little boss."

"Well, have you ever thought about coming back to the Wizarding world?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. I wouldn't."

"Why not?" asked Draco as he flagged the barman for another round of drinks.

"I just- I'd never go back."

"Anything to do with your public breakup with Weasley?"

"Not exactly."

"Well then what is it?" Draco asked as he slipped the barman a note in return for two new drinks.

"I don't think that's something we need to discuss, Malfoy."

"Draco."

"What?" asked Hermione, staring at him confused.

"Draco." he said with a grin. "Don't you think we're past all of that surname nonsense?"

"Fine," replied Hermione as she mirrored his grin for a second before glancing down at the bar where her new drink was settled. Picking it up, she closed her lips around the black straw that was poking out of the top of the glass and took a long sip. Her eyes trailed back to his when she stopped and flashed him a shy smile. " _Draco,_ It's not something we need to discuss."

"Maybe it is."

"What?"

"Maybe it is something we need to discuss. Have you every discussed it with anyone else?"

"Well, no-"

"Exactly." said Draco. He scooted forward slightly and placed his hand over hers on top of the bar. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat at that and he smiled at her softly.

"Draco-"

"If you've never discussed the reasons why you can't go back to a place where you clearly belong-"

"But I don't belong there any more!" Hermione shouted over the music causing several people by the bar to glance in her direction. She sighed and lowered her voice. "I don't belong in the Wizarding world any more and that's a fact."

"Well, there's a job opening at Emerald Potion Supplies if you changed your mind. I can guarantee you that you would belong there."

"You want me to work for you?" Hermione's eyes widened at this and he could tell that she was shocked by his offer. He didn't quite know why he had said it himself but he did know she would be a perfect fit for the job. They may not have gotten along in their youth but he was fully aware of how intelligent, independent and brilliant she was.

"Would that be so awful?" Draco asked her, not really wanting to hear her answer. He knew she would never go for it.

"Of corse not." replied Hermione and she felt him move his hand from on top of hers. Within a second, his fingers had intertwined with hers and he gave her hand a firm squeeze. "It's just not for me. Plus, one night of drinks in a bar does not mean we're going to be best friends."

"Who said it had to be one night?"

She rolled her eyes at him at that.

"Well, I do," she responded removing her hand from his. "We'll go our separate ways after today and we'll probably never see each other again."

Draco breathed out and smirked. "Well, if it's just for one night then how about we make the entire night of it?"

"I'm not having sex with you." said Hermione, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Never said that now, did I?" Draco's smirk widened. "Hermione Granger, get your mind out of the gutter."

The brunette began to laugh, the glass shaking in her hand as she did.

"What did you mean then?"

"Well, the bar will be closing any minute so how about we go for a walk down by the river?"

She felt her gaze drop to the glass in her hands and she let out a small sigh, almost to low for him to hear. She finished the liquid in the glass quickly, coughing slightly as the cold liquid rushed down her throat at speed . She placed the glass down gently before gathering her courage and locking eyes with him, her lips twitching upwards into a smile.

"I think that sounds like a lovely idea."

"Probably the only idea seeing as I highly doubt we'd be able to pry apart our friends." said Draco as he pointed across to Theo and Ashleigh now completely alone in the booth, still attached to one another. Theo's hands gripped at Ashleigh's thin waist as his mouth began to wander down her neck. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh honestly." she muttered, mostly to herself.

"How about that walk then?" asked Draco, tearing her attention away from Ash. She flashed a smile at him and nodded. He stepped down from the stool, offering her his hand which she gladly took. Her heels hit the floor with a ' _clack'_ and she began to straighten out her dress. Then, she turned her body away from him and began to glance around the room full of bodies, almost all of them stumbling, clearly drunk.

"Let me just round up my friends. I want to make sure everyone is okay for getting home."

"Always the hero." Draco smirked and she bit her lip, still facing away from him.

"Did you expect anything less?"said Hermione.

"Never." Draco shook his head, cocking his head slightly to the side as he glanced around her. "Although, I wouldn't bother with Ashleigh. She seems like she's probably not going to end up in her own bed." Draco chuckled and Hermione turned to face him once more, her eyes narrowing into a glare.

"She's not a slapper, Draco." growled Hermione. "She must really like him so you best hope he doesn't hurt her or I'll hex your bloody bollocks off!"

Draco held his hand up in surrender shaking his head.

"Hey, that wasn't what I meant," he insisted, still holding his hand up by his chest. He watched as her shoulders slumped down slightly as the burning fire began to leave her eyes. "I can see he really likes her too. Contrary to popular belief and the front Theo puts on, he doesn't sleep around. He's a good guy, Hermione and he deserves someone decent for a change."

"Well, he's found her. She's decent, kind and a very loyal friend. The best I could ever ask for."

"Then come on. Let's leave them to it. He'll make sure she gets home safe either way."

"I guess you're right." shrugged Hermione. "Let me at least make sure the other girls are okay."

She located Rebecca rather quickly as she was still rather close to the booth. Hermione wandered through the dwindling crowd towards her friend who was picking up her clutch bag.

"You heading home, Bex?"

Rebecca turned at the sound of her friends voice and smiled warmly, looking incredibly sober considering the amount they had all had to drink.

"James was going to share a taxi with me." She nudged her head towards James who was shrugging on his jacket. He looked up just as Draco arrived behind Hermione.

"Drake, I'm off." said James, rubbing his tired eyes. "I've just seen Jack staggering to the door with Andrew. You reckon they'll be alright?"

"They'll be fine." Draco nodded.

With a stretch, James closed the gap between Rebecca and himself and held out his arm. "You coming then, beautiful?"

"Of course." grinned Rebecca, facing him and looping her arm through his. She glanced over her shoulder at Hermione. "Is it alright if I call you tomorrow, Mione?"

"Of course, Bex." said Hermione. "You have a safe journey home, yeah?"

"I'll make sure she gets home alright." James told her and Hermione smiled kindly at him, very grateful.

"Appreciate it, mate." Draco said from behind her and that was when Hermione realized just how close he was to her. She felt her cheeks warm as he shifted and pressed against her slightly to avoid a stumbling drunk who was passing them. He moved away just as quick and Hermione cleared her throat, her eyes now roaming the bar for her other friends.

* * *

The music was beginning to die down and Hermione watched from the doorway of the bar as Zoe, Holly and Danielle stumbled into a black taxi outside, Danielle almost losing her shoe in the process. Draco once again placed his jacket over her shoulders and she smiled softly, her cheeks burning up.

"Now then," she heard him say from behind her. "Ready for that walk?"

She turned around to face him and nodded her head which was feeling rather fuzzy by now. He held out his hand and she took it gently, her smile widening as his finger intertwined with hers.

"Of course I'm ready." As Hermione said that, she couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking.

* * *

 **Here is chapter three. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts.  
-Dreamer**


	4. Chapter 4

**Pancakes at Dawn.**

 **Chapter Four.**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All original characters are my own creation.**

* * *

Draco shivered slightly in his shirt as they walked hand in hand close to the river. He had never felt more relaxed than he was in this moment, the streets silent except for the sound of Hermione's heels hitting the pavement below as she walked. He glanced over at his companion and smiled when he spotted Hermione pulling his jacket tighter around her with her free hand. They had been walking for a half hour and the wind chill has gotten significantly worse. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching before casting a quick non-verbal warming charm around them both. Hermione smiled slightly, her eyes watching the floor as she walked precariously, trying to stay upright. She couldn't believe she was here with him, especially with the history they shared. It may have been to do with the buzz from the alcohol but she couldn't deny it. It felt right. Her fingers tingled as they wound in his and she took in a deep breath, the smell of Draco's cologne circling her nostrils.

Draco glanced across to her and she lifted her head, her eyes locking with his grey ones.

"Are you warm enough?" he asked and she nodded with a smile.

"Perfect, thank you." replied Hermione as he gently rubbed his thumb against hers. "I'm glad I came tonight."

"Oh really?" Draco quirked an eyebrow at her, a small smirk appearing on his lips.

"Yes," said Hermione with a nod, her face completely sincere as she stopped walking. He halted beside her immediately, turning his entire body so that he was impossibly close. A heated blush flushed her cheeks as she steadied herself against him, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Do go on,"

"I've just been avoiding who I really am for so long but being around you..." she paused for a second and Draco smirked.

"What?"

"I feel like I'm myself again. The person I was back at Hogwarts."

"Really?" asked Draco, who was rather shocked at her confession.

"Yes." she replied with a slow nod. "I know we weren't exactly the closest in school but you're familiar, you know? I've changed so drastically being away from the wizarding world and I'm grateful for my family and friends here in the muggle world, I just-"

She huffed, turning on her heels. She took several steps away from him, glancing out over the river. He followed after her but kept his distance, not wanting to push her.

"I'm a completely different person. You don't go through an entire war without having some scars-"

"I understand more than most, Hermione." He rubbing at his arm over his shirt, thinking of the ugly tattoo he would now always have on his forearm. They both had scars from the war. It was a sign that they had been through a traumatic experience yet had come out the other side triumphant.

Draco sighed and stepped closer to her, resting a single hand on her hip as his chest pressed against her back. He heard her inhale deeply at the contact. "I'm going to tell you a secret, Hermione."

"What's that?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper. He leaned his head down so that his lips were brushing against her ear.

"People change." he said slowly. "Change is part of life. It means that you've grown as a person and that you've experienced life. In fact, I happen to like this Hermione Granger just fine."

She breathed out softly and spun slowly in his arms. He was directly behind her, so close that her nose was almost touching his. Hermione glanced up into his grey eyes which sparkled even in the dark.

"How can you possibly know?" she whispered. "You don't really know who I've become or what I've done. You've only know this Hermione for a couple of hours."

He chuckled. "That's all I need."

Hermione placed a gentle hand on his chest as she lifted herself onto her tiptoes. She sucked in a whole lot of courage before she met her lips with his in a searing kiss, allowing her eyes to flutter closed. His large hands immediately lifted to her head, winding his fingers in a brunette curls as she swayed slightly, a small moan slipping from her mouth. Draco let out a deep breath through his nose as he pulled her closer, one hand now cupping the back of her head, the other slipping down her side to grip at her waist. Hermione couldn't tell if it was the drink that was making her far more confident but as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, she met him with a matched enthusiasm of her own. Her hand on his chest gripped a fistful of his shirt as she felt the warming charm wear off, the wind chill in the air beginning to burn at her cheeks.

"Oi!"

Draco and Hermione ripped apart at the shout which was followed by several wolf whistles. Draco chuckled as he glanced up and spotted three drunken men stumbling towards them.

"Get a bloody-" _hiccup_ "-room!"

"They are in a room, stupid!" shouted one of the men at his friend.

The two other men stopped in their tracks and turned to stare at the man beside them.

"No they're not, you fucking idiot! We're outside!"

The man glanced around for a second before continuing to walk. "Oh yeah."

Obnoxious laughter filled the streets as the three men neared them.

Hermione glanced back at Draco, who was still staring at her intently. The drunks who had now passed them, bickered between themselves as they walked out of sight down one of the side streets. He took his hand in hers and placed a gentle kiss against her lips, The brunette froze at this and let out a small sigh against him before she took a step back once again, pulling herself away from him.

Draco glanced at her quizzically, his eyebrow raised. She was breathing deeply, her eyes wide.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea-" Draco held up a finger, cutting her off.

"No." said Draco. "Don't do this."

"Don't do what?"

"Don't push me away."

"I'm not," replied Hermione, her hands starting to shake. "I just think it's the drink. Yes, the drink-"

Draco shook his head, not believing the words coming from her mouth. "It's not the drink and you know it. This has nothing to do with alcohol. You didn't kiss me because you were drunk."

"Malfoy-"

"I want you, Hermione. Plain and simple." he told her and took a step towards her, attempting to close the gap between them once one. He tried to ignore the ache in his chest as she reverted back to calling him by his surname.

The brunette violently shook her head and took several steps away from him. Draco cocked his head to the side, confused at her sudden turnaround. She suddenly looked terrified. He unconsciously allowed a hand to return to his forearm and rubbed his thumb against the fabric of the shirt which separated him from the tattoo. He couldn't help but think it was because she had remembered who he was and what he had done.

"Malfoy, please," she said, starting to shake. "That kiss – the kiss was a mistake."

She turned on her heels at that and began to walk away from him at a hurried pace.

"Hermione!" he called after her, letting out an exasperated sigh when she didn't stop or turn around. "Hermione, wait!"

"Go home, Malfoy!"

He jogged, slightly unsteadily due to the alcohol in his system but he managed to catch up with her.

"Hey!" He took her hand in his and span her back around to face him. "Please don't walk away."

A single tear fell from her eye and he froze in front of her, not knowing what to do or say.

"Why can't you just do as I ask?" she snapped at him. "You don't know me, Malfoy. You've been back in my life for a matter of hours and you have no right-"

"Talk to me, Hermione."

"I can't! Don't you get it?"" Hermione gave him a rough shove, forcing him away from her. This worried Draco even more. Something was going on, something she wasn't going to share easily. He honestly didn't know if this had anything to do with him anymore. This seemed deeper than him.

"Clearly I don't!"

"You're so stubborn! Why can't you just leave me alone.."

"I'm not going anywhere, Granger." he told her defiantly. She raised an eyebrow at him."I'm not leaving until you talk to me."

"Then it's going to be a long night out here in the cold," she spat at him. He stared at her properly for the first time since she had taken this turn. She well and truly had her guard up and all he wanted was to get her to take it down again.

"There's a coffee shop down the road that is twenty-four hour. How about we go get a coffee and warm up?"

"You won't let me leave unless I do, will you?"

"I'm not holding you hostage," Draco said taking a step close to her. She didn't move this time although she tensed. "I just want you to calm down and talk to me."

Something has clearly set her off and he wanted to help her.

"I don't need to calm down!"

"Humor me, Granger. Come and have coffee with me."

Hermione's tense shoulders dropped and her face softened slightly as her breathing began to return to a normal pace. Her face was flushed and Draco couldn't help but think that even after her outburst, she still looked absolutely beautiful.

"Fine." she agreed, almost reluctantly. "I'll go for a coffee with you but that's it."

"That's fine by me. " Draco held out his hand for her to take and she breathed out, slipping her hand in his. He watched as her brown eyes softened and he realized she had come back down from her wrath. He knew she was damaged, they both were. The war had done so much to his own sanity after all but this seemed different. She was scared and he intended to find out what was going on with her. He knew this had something to do with her disappearance from the wizarding world. Now, he just had to get her to open up. He squeezed her hand and began to lead her down the empty street towards the coffee shop on the corner, feeling a lot more sober than he had in several hours.

* * *

 **Let me know what you think of this by leaving a review. I like to think of this chapter as kind of a filler, even though we have our first Dramione kiss. Also, I know Draco seems a little OCC but I think he would have grown a lot with him having to branch away from his family and make his own way in the world.  
I've got a couple chapters written in advance so look out for an update next weekend.**

 **-Dreamer**


	5. Chapter 5

**Pancakes at Dawn.**

 **Chapter Five.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All original characters are my own creation.**

* * *

Hermione stared out of the window of the small coffee shop, eyes trailing the dark and empty street. The coffee shop was relatively empty apart from a couple of tables and was more of a café really as it also served selected foods. Two ambulance drivers sat in a booth, both of them digging into bacon and eggs, clearly just clocking off from a night shift. They were discussing a case that they had dealt with that evening, deep in conversation. On the other side of the room, three young woman sat in a table, laughing hysterically about their night on the town, very obviously drunk. Hermione glanced at the clock and she was surprised to see it was almost half past four in the morning. The sun would soon be rising and she would still be sitting in this overpriced coffee shop, attempting to avoid Draco's questioning eyes.

"Hermione-" Draco began but Hermione cut him off quickly.

"Don't." she responded, cupping her hands around the coffee cup. "I agreed to come with you to have coffee, not to talk."

Draco stared at her as she clasped his hands together on the table in front of him. "Oh, so we're just going to sit here in silence while you drink your coffee?"

"Yes," Hermione nodded her head in agreement as she took a sip from the cup.

"I just want to know what has you so stressed out." said Draco. "You've completely closed yourself off-"

"It has _nothing_ to do with you, Malfoy." she hissed at him and he cocked his head to the side in disbelief.

"We're back to Malfoy then?"

"I guess we are,"

"Oh come on, Hermione." Draco let out an exasperated sigh and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "What happened to _being around you makes me feel like my old self?_ "

"I-I was drunk-"

"Don't try and give me that bullshit!"

"I'm not," she stared at him.

He breathed out of his nose and simply stared back at her. She was stubborn, he knew that but he would crack her.

"Stop lying to yourself. Hermione. You've more than likely got the same amount of alcohol in your body as you did before so what changed?"

"I'm _not_ lying to myself." she insisted, ignoring his other question. Her eyes did not move from his but he could see her facial expression waiver. Even she no longer believed her own lies. He smirked.

"Okay," he shrugged his shoulders. If she wouldn't give in, he would try a second tactic. If that didn't work, he would continue to try until something cracked and she snapped out of whatever was holding onto her. He was silent for a second before his eyes scanned across the coffee shop menu that was left on the table beside them. His mouth quirked upwards into a smirk for half of a second and then he looked back at her.. "Are you hungry?"

"What?"

"Are you hungry, Granger?" he stated simply, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Uh, I guess so?"

"Great," said Draco simply, trying to stop the corner of his mouth twitching upwards as he saw her curious eyes. He rose from his chair and wandered to the counter where a very tired looking waitress stood.

Hermione turned her head to watch him go for a second and let out a sigh. She knew what he was doing. He was stalling, hoping she would crack and tell him exactly what he had set her off earlier. She was so embarrassed by it. Everything had been going great after all and... then she had kissed him. She found herself getting lost in him before the unthinkable happened, her own mind had betrayed her. She'd had a flashback and all she could see was _him_ , it was no longer Draco. She shuddered as Draco sat back down at their table.

"I've ordered some food for the table. Maybe that will help you relax a little."

"I don't need to relax," she said. "How many times... I just think it was a bad decision-"

"What? To kiss me?" Draco sighed. "You were fine until we were interrupted by those guys so come on, Hermione. What changed?"

"Nothing changed!" she insisted.

Draco reached across the table and took her hands in his. She glanced up quickly, her eyes locking with his. She could feel his thumb rubbing gently against hers and she could feel herself being drawn in again.

"I don't believe that," replied Draco. "Hermione, you can trust me. Please, if something is wrong then let me help,"

"It's not something that can be fixed, okay?" sighed the brunette.

"What do you mean?"

"It's already happened," said Hermione. "You can't fix this. No one can."

Her eyes grew soft and watery and she looked back down at her coffee cup which was settled on the table. Draco never left go of her hand, not even for a second. He gave it a gentle squeeze of reassurance, ignoring the shooting pains in his temples. His head was already starting to hurt due to the mixture of alcohol and caffeine but he would work with the pain. He would work through it for her.

"Tell me what is going on and I can try," Draco responded to her.

"I- I just can't"

"Does it have something to do with your disappearance?" asked Draco and she shook her head once more, eyes wide. He sighed. Now he knew she was lying. He watched as her eyes dropped to the cooling coffee in the cup and he let out a small sigh. He felt like he wasn't getting anywhere.

"I can't talk about it, Draco." she said, her voice low.

"Hermion-"

"Pancakes?" Hermione heard a voice beside them and she look up to see the tired looking waitress standing over them with a plate of steaming pancakes. She glanced at Draco and raised an eyebrow.

"Pancakes, really?"

"Yes," Draco nodded. "I spent some time in America last summer and fell in love with them. I hope you like them too."

"I do." said Hermione simply.

The waitress placed the plate down between them and stalked off towards the counter making Draco roll his eyes.

"She's friendly." he said and Hermione scoffed slightly.

"It is almost five in the morning," she told him. "What did you expect?"

"Manners cost nothing, Granger." replied Draco.

"Shame you didn't realize that in school then."

"Ouch," Draco placed a hand over her heart and smirked. "You wound me."

"Oh, give over," Hermione responded with a laugh, picking up the bottle of syrup that was on the table. "Syrup?"

"Please." said Draco with a small nod, watching as she swirled the brown treacle on top of the small stack of pancakes on the plate. He couldn't take his eyes off her in truth. She had calmed down once again. Without realizing it, she had allowed her guard to fall and she had stuck up a relatively normal conversation with him.

"You know," Hermione said as she placed the syrup bottle back down and picked up her knife and fork. "While we are on the subject of school, I don't think you ever properly apologized for being such a prat whilst we were in school."

"Oh really?" replied Draco, popping a piece of pancake into his mouth. He chewed quickly, a thoughtful expression on his face. Once he was finished, he looked her dead in the eyes and grinned devilishly. "How's this then?"

"What are you-"

With that, Draco dropped his fork onto the plate and stood up, facing the other occupied tables in the coffee shop.

"Hermione Granger," he began at a raised volume, causing everyone in the coffee shop to turn and look at him. "I'm so very sorry for the way I treated you while we were in school. I was an utter fucking prick and I-"

"Will you sit down!" With a rough tug, Hermione reached over and pulled him back down into the chair. There were loud _Whoops_ from the drunken group of girls in the corner and the two men who were just finishing their drinks were shaking their heads with laughter. Hermione turned her attention back to Draco and she scowled slightly, a small blush creeping onto her face. "I get it, you're sorry!"

"You _said_ you wanted and apology so I gave you one!" Draco chuckled and although Hermione couldn't argue with his logic, she didn't mean an apology quite like that one.

"Not that publicly, you idiot!"

"I think you should have been more specific then," He tried to stop his laughter but he was failing miserably. Hermione eyes locked with his and after a few seconds, the scowl fell from her face as she found herself laughing along with him. They remained sat in their seats across from each other, laughing as they finished the plate of pancakes between them, Hermione completely relaxing now that the subject had completely changed. After an hour of gentle chatting and a further drink, Draco stretched in his chair attempting to pop his back and stretch out. The sun was half risen and a gentle orange tinge filled the sky. Hermione yawned, her head spinning as she stumbled to her feet. Draco followed suit, pushing the chair away from him allowing the leg to squeak against the floor as it moved. The rest of the coffee shop was deserted now, more than likely for an other hour or so before the inevitable breakfast rush began.

"Come on, I'll walk you home. You're in no state to apparate."

"Neither are you." Hermione pointed out. They had both had their fair share to drink and even though it had been a few hours since their last alcoholic drink, Hermione still felt pleasantly buzzed, as did Draco.

"Fair point," he replied with a chuckle. He held out a hand for her and she smiled slightly, taking his hand in hers, feeling sparks shoot through her fingers as she did. She bit her lip on the inside and let out a small sigh. As she stared at him, she couldn't stop herself. She didn't want to leave him at all, not yet. She knew it may be a mistake but she couldn't stop herself from uttering her next sentence.

"Actually, how about we walk to your place?"

Draco seemed shocked at her words and his eyebrows raised ever so slightly. "My place?"

"Yes,"

"Aren't you tired?" asked Draco and his question was followed by a slow shake of her head. He breathed out a steady sigh. "Are you sure?"

She remained silent and simply nodded her head.

"Well then," said Draco, the corner of his mouth turned up into a smile. "My place it is."

* * *

 **Hello! Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter. I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying this! Hopefully this chapter all alright!  
** **Please leave a review and let me know what you think!  
** **Chapter six will be released on Saturday 14th! Have a lovely weekend! :)**

 **-Dreamer**


	6. Chapter 6

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Six.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

 **WARNING: This story is rated M for a reason. If you are uncomfortable with reading about sexual situations, please click the X button at the top of the page now.**

* * *

Draco fumbled with his keys for his door, glancing across at Hermione only once, who was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. He smiled at her before slotting the key into the lock, twisting it with ease and stepped inside. After Hermione's outburst earlier, he wasn't sure if she would want to spend any time with him again. Something had set her off and he couldn't help but feel responsible for whatever was wrong with her. He had always known her to be a strong individual but she was so different now. She had shocked him when he had offered to walk her home and she had asked him if she could come back to his flat. He wasn't opposed to that idea at all but now he looked at her, he could see her flagging. They had stayed up all night walking and talking and now he did feel kind of bad. She was clearly exhausted and he was tired too.

"Hey," he said softly and her eyes fluttered open. "You coming in?"

She smiled at him and nodded her head, standing up straight as she followed him inside of the flat, teetering precariously on her high heels as she stepped onto the carpet. He gently closed the door behind her and then toed off his black shoes, padding across the floor in his socks. Hermione stopped in her tracks and looked around, her mouth dropping open slightly in awe. When Draco turned and spotted her, her let out a laugh and couldn't stop the smirk for emerging.

"Close your mouth, Granger." he said to her. "The flies will land in there if you're not careful."

"Like this place would even have a fly!" Hermione responded, glancing around at the pristine counter tops that didn't look to have a mark on them and Draco laughed some more at her comment. "This place is huge."

"It's home, I guess."

"This isn't a normal home. It's a bloody mansion!" said Hermione incredulously.

Draco snorted. "Hardly. You've seen the manor."

He stopped and stared at her but she did not seem to react to his comment. He knew the manor must hold painful memories for her from the war. It did for him too.

"My entire flat could fit inside your kitchen!" Hermione told him, gesturing to the large open plan kitchen which he was standing beside.

"It's not _that_ big."

"It's the penthouse. It's huge." she told him matter of factly, refusing to hear him.

Draco chuckled at her reaction and wandered towards one of the kitchen cupboards, plucking out two glasses.  
"Drink?"

"Just water please. My head is killing me." Draco nodded and he returned to her with a glass of water with ice as she placed her clutch bag down on the table. She took a small sip, relishing in the feeling of the cool liquid on her tongue.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather go home?" Draco asked her as he watched her rub at her left temple, trying to soothe an obvious headache.

"Draco Malfoy, are you kicking me out? Not very gentlemanly, are we?" Hermione teased him, her deep brown eyes sparkling as she spoke in a playful manner.

"You know I'd never do that," laughed Draco. "You just look tired is all."

"I'm fine,"

"Good," said Draco placing his half empty water glass on the counter. He held out a hand for her and motioned his head towards the sofa. "Come and sit."

She wandered closely towards him and took his hand is hers as he lead her towards the sofa. When they sat down, Hermione leaned back against the arm of the sofa and Draco immediately pulled her legs up and over his own so that they were in a more relaxed position. Her breath stilled in her throat as she felt his thumb gentle brush against her bare calf.

"I get that you're not ready to talk," she heard him say and she let out a small sigh. "That's okay."

"It is?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, it is." Draco responded. "Just know, when you are ready, I'll be hear to listen to what ever it is that is bothering you."

"I appreciate that." She said to him. "It's just not something I really want to talk about."

"That's your decision, like I said."

Draco's fingers were tracing tiny figure eights on her calf now and she sucked in a breath. She glanced out of the large windows that showed beautiful morning views of Canary Wharf and she smiled. Draco couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"This view really is beautiful." she said, content as she sat watched as the sun rose high in the sky.

"Yes," he agreed. "It is beautiful."

Hermione turned her head to look at him and she realized that he was staring directly at her. A warm blush covered her cheeks at his words. She smiled softly at him and scooted ever so slightly closer to him. Draco sat up straighter and began to lean forwards, his hand creeping further up her leg to rest on her knee. In a second, he was on her. His lips were attached to her own and she let out a small gasp at the contact. One of his hands made it's way up to the nape of her neck and she responded to this kiss with a need so strong that she felt it in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes fluttered closed as she listened to her own heartbeat thumping in her ears, letting her legs slip from over his and she found herself gravitating closer towards him. Both of his hand moved to her waist and he manoeuvred her quickly so that she was straddling him, her dress now hiked up to her hips and her heels still on her feet.

Draco's lips attacked hers and she gripped at his shoulders as her brain started to fuzz. The faint scent of his cologne tickled at her nose when she took in a deep breath and let out a gasp of pleasure at his touch. He swiped her long brunette ringlets away from her neck, placing them gently down one side of her head, allowing him to see her bare neck. Without hesitating, he leaned down slowly, lips trailing downwards .She stiffened slightly and he noticed immediately, still peppering gentle kisses against her collarbone.

"Ssh," he said between kisses. "It's just me."

"Draco-" she gasped out, her eyes now wide open as she stayed impossibly still, bolt upright in his lap.

"Tell me to stop and I will." replied Draco, his lips pausing against her.

Hermione stayed completely still for several seconds, her eyes remaining open and staring at the wall behind them. Slowly, she moved back slightly and Draco moved from her neck to look at her. She took one look at his deep grey eyes and let out a breath she had been holding. Her mind began to clear as she stared at him. This was Draco, only Draco.

"Don't you dare stop," she said in a breathy voice and leaned forwards once more, capturing his lips with hers. She could feel him straining against her at this, his hands running slowly down her body, stopping when he reached her arse. His strong hands gripped at her, pulling her as close as he could. The heated kiss caused her to pant heavily, her grip on his broad shoulders tightening as she managed to gasp out a single word. "...Bedroom."

"You're sure?" asked Draco, kissing her once more softly, watching as she nodded her head.

With that, his strong hands moved to the backs of her bare legs and he hoisted her up with him, carrying her off to the bedroom with her legs wrapped around his waist and his lips attached to hers the whole way.

He placed her gently on her back on the bed when they arrived in the bedroom, ready to ravage her right then and there. Hermione sat back up and got to her feet once more with a shake of her head, wanting to go slow, to savour it all. She ran her hands down from his shoulders to the buttons of his dark blue shift, undoing the buttons one by one, hearing the satisfying pop of her nails against the plastic of the buttons until the shirt hung open and allowed her to peak at his gloriously pale abs. She gasped inwardly as she shrugged the shirt off of him, leaving him shirtless in front of her. He reached out and hooked each finger around the thin straps of her dress, slipping them down her shoulders before his hands moved around to her back, taking the silver zipper in between his finger. She felt a cool breeze run down her spine as he unzipped her dress allowing it to fall open at the back. She kicked off her heels and stood up, allowing him to slip the dress down her body, leaving it to pool on the floor at her feet. He stared at her in awe, just in a lacy black black bra and a pair of knickers.

"Fucking beautiful.." he muttered before capturing her lips with his once again. Hermione moaned into his mouth, her hands finding the way to his belt buckle. She quickly made short work of undoing the belt and unzipped his pants, yanking them down his legs. She smirked at him slightly before sinking to her knees and allowing him to spring free from his underwear, which she had let fall down his legs. He was already hard and ready for her. With a bite of her bottom lip, she looked up at him from her spot on the ground and he stifled a moan. Fucking hell, she looked delectable. He was about to drag her back up and drill her into the bed when she moved her head forwards and greedily took him in her mouth.

"Fuck, Hermione!" Draco let out a groan as he watched her suck expertly, moving her lips up and down the shaft of his cock. He let his head fall back slightly and one of his hands moved up to wind into her curly brown hair. She moaned, his dick still in her mouth as she pumped the base with her hand, the part her mouth couldn't quite reach. His grip tightened on her curls and she could hear his heavy breathing, curse words spilling from his mouth as the pleasure engulfed him. Unable to take much more, he reached down and yanked her up to face him, his member wet from her saliva.

"Fucking perfect.." said Draco, his eyes trailing over her.

She kissed him then and he reached around to undo her bra, removing it expertly before flinging it across the room. Her breasts bounced free and he immediately broke their kiss and attached his mouth to her nipple, earning a gasp from the woman in his arms. Her gasp became a moan filled with wanton need when he trailed his fingers down to hook into the band of her knickers. He removed them quickly and Hermione spun them both around, pushing him down onto the bed. Both now naked, she climbed on top of him and placed a tender kiss against his lips before she sunk onto him, eliciting a moan from them both. She felt her body temperature rise when she put her hands against Draco's chest and began to bounce up and down on his cock, A loud groan fell from Draco's mouth, his hands gripping at Hermione's hips to help her move. After allowing her a few more bounces, the blond let out an almost feral growl and roughly gripped her by the thighs, flipping them both over so that he was on top of her. Hermione gasped sharply as he slammed into her.

"Oh shit!" she called out as he attached his lips to her neck, sucking on her pulse point and making her purr. She arched her back, lifting herself off the bed and closer to him and he thrust in and out, a hand reaching down to cup at her breast. Her nails dragged down his back, most likely leaving marks as she cried out in pleasure. She was starting to lose control, she could feel it building inside her. "Oh gods, Draco!"

"That's it," he said, his voice silky soft, never letting up as she clenched around him. "Come for me, Hermione."

The blond moved a hand from her breast down to stroke at her clit and she lost it, crying out his name once more as she came undone, the waves crashing around her. A few more thrusts and Draco was following after her, curses falling from his lips as he nestled his face in her neck. She gasped for breath as he rolled off of her and he lay there panting for a moment.

"That was-" he began to say but Hermione interrupted him, her chest heaving.

"Amazing." Hermione finished, rolling on her side to stare at him, biting at her bottom lip. He reached into his bedside cabinet for his wand and cast a quick contraception charm for the aftermath along with a ' _Scourgify',_ removing the sweat from them both _._ Then he scooted up the bed, motioning for her to do the same. Her head was spinning but she moved towards him as he lay back with his head against the pillow. She lowed herself down, resting her head against his chest as he pulled the sheet up to cover their bodies.

Draco glanced at the clock then out of the window, seeing the sun shining high over London. He grinned to himself, looking down at Hermione's head that lay on him.

"Good morning, Hermione." he muttered, the grin still on his face.

She let out a content sigh and responded after a yawn. "Good morning, Draco."

Draco let his eyes fall closed as he fell into a slumber, Hermione right behind him.

* * *

 _ ***Hides face behind my hands and runs away to hide because I wrote and published a lemon...***_

 **I know Hermione seems like she is up one minute and down the next but I feel like all will become clear soon enough about why she is very skittish and abit all over the place. Look out for the next chapter which will be published on Saturday 21st July. Leave a review and let me know your thoughts.**


	7. Chapter 7

Pancakes at Dawn  
Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

Draco awoke several hours later to the feeling of Hermione's fingers tracing gentle circles on his bare chest. He cracked open his eyes and groaned lightly at his pounding head, trying to avoid looking at the harsh sunlight that was streaming in through the window.

"Oh merlin.." he said, his mouth so dry that he almost couldn't speak.

"Don't talk," Hermione muttered from her spot beside him, her head still lay on his chest and her eyes still closed. "Noise hurts."

"What time is it?" he ground out, reached a hand up to rub at his eyes.

"A little after three."

"Three in the afternoon!?" Draco tried to sit up immediately but Hermione refused to move.

"Draco!" she whined at him. "You don't need to move so sharply."

"I was meant to be working today!"

"I think that ship has already sailed.." said Hermione and she resumed tracing invisible lines on his skin with her fingers.

Draco huffed and lay back down, knowing she was right. "I fucking hate hangovers."

"You big baby," she replied and he could almost hear her smirking as she said this.

"I'm surprised you're still here."

"You thought I'd leave?" Hermione sat up slowly at that and turned to face him, her hair wild with strands sticking up on all angles. Draco still thought she looked stunning, even with bed hair which resembled a lion's mane. Bloody Gryffindors.

"Well.. yes." said Draco honestly. "I thought you would have come to your senses and ran home the first chance you got."

"I don't regret it if that's what you're getting at."

"Really?"

"Really." Hermione confirmed with a smile. She closed the gap between them and captured his lips in a soft kiss. She let out a squeal of delight when Draco grabbed her and flipped her over so that he was on top of her, kissing her with a passion that made her toes curl. His hardness pressed against her inner thigh and she let out a small gasp. His hands trailed down towards her womanhood and he smirked when he touched her, realizing she was already soaking wet. He felt his dick jump as he ran his fingers over her.

"Well, what do you reckon?" asked Draco, between kisses as he moved to position himself over her entrance. "Do you think your pounding head could take a second go?"

"Why don't we see?" Hermione grinned back at him and within seconds, he was inside her. The sound of a mutual groan filled the bedroom and Draco reached up to brace himself against the headboard of the bed as his hips smacked against hers roughly. She wrapped her legs around his waist instinctively, drawing him deeper inside of her.

"Oh gods, oh gods." Hermione repeated as she felt the familiar heat building inside of her. Draco grunted above her as he continued his steady strokes, one hand reaching down to cup at her breast, squeezing it gently.

"Fuck!"

With a scream, she unravelled, clenching tight around him. Draco let out a groan as she did, leaning down to kiss her without losing momentum. He slammed into her several more times, not able to take his eyes off of her as she lay below him, her hair spread around her head like a halo. She bit at her bottom lip to hold in a scream of ecstasy.

"Don't hold it in, baby." Draco muttered to her, reached down to hoist one of her legs up and over his shoulder, giving him better access to her. He thrust only three times with this new access before Hermione let out a cry of pleasure, convulsing beneath him. Her eyes rolled backwards into her head as she reached her highest point for a second time. Draco tumbled after her, continuing to slam into her until there was nothing left.

He rolled off her a few moments later and popped a small kiss on her nose as he did. She was gasping heavily, trying to catch the breath that had quite literally been smashed out of her.

"Well, I don't know about you but my fucking head is still killing me," Draco muttered, glancing over at Hermione who laughed with a nod of her head.

"Don't suppose you have any painkillers around here?"

"The closest I can get you is a pepper-up potion." Draco responded as he slowly sat up in bed, rubbing at his tired eyes.

"I guess it will have to do until I can get home." Hermione replied with a grateful smile.

"I'll go and grab you one. I'll be right back." he leant forwards and kissed her gently before climbing out of bed and he shrugged on a pair of black pants.

Hermione watched him wander out of the bedroom and she lay back against the headboard with a content sigh, pulling the white sheets around her naked body. She couldn't believe she had done this. Going home with someone on the first meeting was not something Hermione did. This was different however, this wasn't the first meeting. This was Draco Malfoy and something about being here with him felt right. Her life since leaving the wizarding world had been hard and this was the closest that she had gotten in years. She didn't want to ruin things but she genuinely liked him and she didn't want to walk away from this, from him. She was no stranger to the things he had done but he had clearly moved on with this life and away from the prejudiced belief that were forced upon him by his parents. She was terrified that even he, with the things he had seen and done would turn his back on her, when she told him what she had done, what she was involved in.

With a sigh, she pulled herself from the bed, keeping the sheet wrapped loose around her body and she walked around the bed and towards the bedroom door, stepping around the clothing that had been dumped last night in the throes of passion. She stumbled rather ungracefully through the door and found Draco in the kitchen, picking through a cabinet filled with potions, all correctly labelled. She silently wandered up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, making him jump, somehow managing not to drop the glass potion bottle in his hand.

"Merlin Hermione!" he turned in her arms, pepper up potion in hand and she smirked at the look of shock on his face.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright." replied Draco, his heartbeat returning to normal. After a few second, the corner of his mouth quirked into a smile as she held out the potion for her, the lid already off. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

Draco turned back into the cabinet and plucked out another bottle of the same and popped the lid.

"Cheers." He clinked the bottle with hers and they both knocked back the potion, Hermione grimacing the most as it slid down her throat.

"Ugh." she grumbled and she could hear Draco's throaty chuckle as she placed the now empty potion bottle down. She wearily glanced up at Draco whose eyes were locked on her. With a shy smile, she reached up and pecked a kiss against his lips.

"Hermione," said Draco when they parted. "I don't want this to end here."

"I don't either," she admitted and Draco began to smile. His smile fell however, at her next words. "But we both know it has too."

"What?"

"Draco, let's be realistic.."

"I am being bloody realistic!" Draco raised his voice slightly, slamming down the potion bottle on the counter top. "What is it going to take to show you I've changed? I'm assuming that is what this is about?"

"Of course it's not, Draco!" replied Hermione. "I can't be involved with the wizarding world again. You, by extension are the wizarding world."

"Fuck off with that will you?" Hermione raised her eyebrow in shock at his words. "You're the golden girl. They're still fucking looking for you. Potter has never given up the search! Nothing is stopping you from going back but yourself."

"That's not true at all," snapped Hermione, her head finally starting to feel normal again. She had a feeling that this wouldn't last long now that voices were being raised. "Of course you wouldn't understand-"

"Only because you won't let me!"

"Draco, enough.." she breathed out, her voice wavering as she did.

"No! How many times, Hermione! You can fucking trust me, okay? Just tell me what the hell is going on with you!"

"I-" Hermione looked like she wanted to blurt everything out but he could see her holding her tongue. He growled and took a step closer to her. Her eyes shot to the floor.

"What's it going to take, Hermione? Do I have to take a fucking unbreakable vow to prove to you that I can be trusted?"

"We couldn't do an unbreakable vow.." she said quietly, trying to concentrate on her breathing.

"Why not?" he snapped, aggravated that she was ignoring his actual topic of conversation.

"We would need a third wizard." she stated and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Such a little smart arse, aren't you.." she smirked at that and he chuckled deeply, his anger fading away. He took a further step towards her and breathed her in, running his hands up and down her arm in a soothing manner. Leaning his head down, her stopped to rest his forehead against her, staring into her deep brown eyes. They were so full of emotion and he felt her release a large breath at his touch. "Hermione, please. Trust me."

Hermione blinked and stared right back at him. With a shaky breath, she stuttered out the words she had never told anyone before. She was terrified she would regret it, that he would go running to people that mattered. She was even more terrified that he would turn his back on her, disgusted at what she had done. Her hands shook and a single tear slipped down her cheek. She moved her head back away from him so that she could see his face properly. He was right. She had to trust someone. She had to trust _him_.

"I killed someone,"

Silence.

Draco's eyes were wide, staring back at her as if he had misheard.

"What?"

"You heard what I said, Draco." she managed to choke out.

More tears followed now and she began to violently sob, clutching at him, silently begging him not to leave her.

Draco stayed completely still, shock over taking him. He had one question first of all, something that he needed to know. Before anything further was said, one single question needed to be answered. He found his voice somehow as she sobbed in his arms, croaking out a single word.

"Who?"

* * *

 **Now hear me out. I know this seems a bit out there but all will be explained next chapter. This should help explain why Hermione is up one minute and down the next. It's my Birthday on Friday so I'm not sure if I'll have the time to update next weekend but I'll see if I can squeeze out an update! Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts.**

 **-Dreamer**


	8. Chapter 8

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Eight**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

" _Who?"_

The single word that Draco had uttered rang in her ears like a bell. She had admitted it and now she had to tell the whole story. He was still staring at her like she had grown an extra head, although she could hardly see him through her blurry eyes. Her cheeks were flushed red and tear stained and she felt like she would crumble to the ground if it weren't for her hold on his shirt. Her legs were weak and truthfully, it just felt like her entire world was falling down around her. It was out there now and she was terrified.

" _Draco_ -" she managed to choke out.

"Who was it?"

"I'm not telling you anything else until you promise me that you're not going to take this to the Auror office." She knew that made her sound even more guilty but she didn't care. She was going to tell him the truth and he was going to hear her out properly. She wanted him to hear the full story from her directly.

"Even if I did, I hardly think your best friend would believe me over you."

"Draco, _promise me."  
_

He sighed but nodded his head, brushing his hair from his face. "I promise, Hermione."

"Do you want to sit down?" she asked him as he gently swept his fingers under her eyes, wiping away her tears. She sniffed when he nodded slowly and he lead her over to the sofa, still only wrapped in the white sheet from his bed. Once they were settled down on the black leather, Draco pulled Hermione to him and glanced down at her shaking form.

"You're not a cold blooded killer, Hermione. Anyone would know that there must be a reason behind what happened."

"It doesn't change the fact that he's still dead," Another sob followed her words and he was quite shocked at her bluntness.

"Who is, Hermione?" asked Draco, pressing for further information whilst he continued to console her, rocking her as she cried in his arms. "Who was it?"

"Marcus Flint," she managed to say through her sobs.

"Flint? Flint went travelling three-" he paused but his train of thought continued. _Flint went travelling three years ago, off into the wilds of Australia after work got too much._ "Hermione, tell me what happened."

"He never went travelling. That was what he was talking about a few days before-"

She trailed off as she began to bawl louder, her entire body vibrating.

"Ssh, it's okay," he told her soothingly. "Take your time."

"I don't think I'm strong enough," she said, panting heavily. Draco was sure if she continued this way, she would start hyperventilating. He took her hand in his and gave it a strong squeeze, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"You've come this far, Hermione." Draco told her. "Talk to me. Keep talking until it's all out."

Hermione gulped and thought back to that night, the night it had all happened.

"I was working late at the office finishing up some paperwork on a big case that we had just signed off. I used to work-"

"In the Investigations and Research department in Magic Law Enforcement, I know." said Draco.

"How did you know that I worked at the Ministry?" asked Hermione, shocked that he had known this information.

"It was hard to avoid you if I'm being honest."

"What do you mean?"

"You, Potter and Weasley were always plastered over the Daily Prophet. It was hard to not take in information about you lot over the years."

"Fair point," Hermione reached up to wipe at the tears that were drying on her cheeks and she huffed lightly in his arms. "He worked with me, offices next door to each other in fact."

Draco listened to her intently, not wanting to interrupt her. "We were alone as we were the only ones working overtime that night. This wasn't unusual though, I often stayed late with different members of the team and he had never tried anything before except a few harmless flirty comments."

His grip on her hand tightened slightly when he realized where she was going with this and his jaw clamped shut in anger.

"He came into my office at around half past nine with a bottle of wine. I told him that we couldn't be drinking at work but clearly he already had been. He absolutely stunk of alcohol."

She moved slightly so that she was practically sitting on top of him. He didn't mind, he just wanted her to be comfortable and he wrapped his spare arm tightly around her body.

"He walked to my desk and when I stood up to ask him to leave, he grabbed me. He was so strong and- and all I can remember is the feeling of his breath on my face when he tried to kiss me. My wand was out of reach so I shoved him as hard as I could but-" Draco kissed her forehead once more, trying to relax her as her mind attempted to take her some place dark. "- he tore my blouse and left bruises with how hard he grabbed me. I tried everything to get him to let go-"

Draco shook his head at her. "Hermione, stop. I don't want to hear any more."

"No," she said, shaking her own head, fighting back the tears as her voice wavered with each sentence. Draco was right, she had come this far. She knew if she stopped now she would never be able to say it out loud again. "You have to hear it all. You have to know what happened."

"I understand why you did it. It was self defence-"

"No, Draco." said Hermione softly. "You don't understand."

She sighed before continuing on, resting her hands against his chest.

"He threw me to the floor and pinned me down by my arms. I- I was wearing a skirt and he started to trail his hand up my leg towards, well towards- _"_

"Hermione-

"

"I didn't know what to do. I wasn't strong enough to make him let go and my struggles only seemed to turn him on more."

"Hermione, _please-"_ Draco was pleading with her to stop now, not wanting to hear.

"He had just reached my underwear and was fumbling around with his zipper when I screamed at him to stop. I- Draco, I don't know what happened but I sent him flying across the room in a blast-"

"You used wandless magic?" asked Draco, shocked that she could conjure that much power without the use of a wand.

"Yes but I don't remember. I blacked out when it happened. The next thing that I remember was him smashing my head off my desk and him ripping my skirt. It's mostly a blur after that-"

"So you don't remember exactly what happened to Flint?"

"I remember some, not all. I remember clawing at his face, his eyes, anything that I can get my hands on to try and make him let go. Nothing worked.. he just continued on smacking me around and touching me."

"Hermione," Draco began with a gulp, not sure if he actually wanted to know the answer to his question. "Did Flint rape you?"

Silence.

"Hermione?"

With a small shake of her head, Hermione managed to mutter a response. "No, he didn't. He didn't get the chance."

"What do you mean?" asked Draco, a wave of relief washing over him.

"I lost control when he tried-" A loud sob fell from her mouth between words. "he tried to _insert_ his finger and I- I lost it. Thunder and Lightening crashed inside the room, sparks came from my finger tips. Draco, I electrocuted him and I don't even know how I did it and how I didn't kill myself or burn down the bloody Ministry." Draco stared down at her wide eyed. "I blacked out again after that and when I woke up, he was dead."

"I was so scared of being charged with murder and thrown in Azkaban that I panicked. I cleaned up the office and removed him, wiped all traces of him. As far as everyone is concerned, he is off travelling the world as that is what he had told some of us a few days prior. I buried him and I ran. I haven't been able to use magic since that night. The thought of it makes me feel ill."

"Hermione-"

"Draco, I need you to promise me that you won't say anything about this, not to anyone."

Hermione looked at him, her eyes wide in fear. She knew it was stupid for her to blurt this out to someone who had only been back in her life for five minutes but she trusted him. She didn't know why she did, but she did trust him.

"I promise you, Hermione." he said without hesitation. "You can trust me."

"Now do you see? Do you see why I can't go back."

"Why didn't you go to Potter?"

"I couldn't" Hermione insisted, shaking her head. "Harry would have done everything he could to protect me but in the end, he was still an Auror and he would have had to follow protocol."

"Surely there must have been someone else? Hermione, you obviously need help!"

"You're the first and only person I plan on telling about this, Draco. No one else has to know."

"But your magic-"

"I've been managing just fine without it. I don't ever plan on using magic again. It's just too dangerous for the people around me."

"You're not a muggle, Hermione." said Draco with a sigh. "Magic is a part of who you are."

"You still don't get it do you? My magic _killed_ someone, Draco. This isn't something that can be fixed or forgotten."

"Eventually your magic will build up inside of you and it will explode. Keeping your magic bottled up is no safer than using it." said Draco, trying to reason with the brunette in his arms. She tilted her head to the side and just stared at him for a few moments. His facial expression remained the same.

"I shouldn't have told you." she muttered after a few seconds, wiping at her face with her fingertips.

"Don't you dare say that." Draco's gently took her chin in between this fingers and placed a small kiss against her lips. She gave him a tiny smile when he pulled away. "Hermione, you have to trust me. I just want to help you. I don't plan on running to the Ministry with this information. _Please_ , let me help you."

"You can't help me, Draco. It's gone further than that now." she sighed and for the first time, Draco noticed how completely deflated she was. He had never seen her like this. She was giving up.

"I don't believe that." he told her. Then, his mind seemed to trail from her magic to the man who had attacked her. His face began to change immediately into that of anger. "He's fucking vile for doing that to you and he deserved what he got-"

"Draco!" gasped Hermione, her eyes wide because of his words.

"No, it's true. He deserved it. You did nothing wrong but try to protect yourself."

"He's still dead, Draco." said Hermione, her eyes trailing down to the floor. "That's something I have to live with for the rest of my life. I never wanted to hurt anyone."

"I know you didn't." replied Draco. He leaned his head against hers and the thoughts whirled around in his head, trying to think of a potion that would maybe help, something to help control and keep her wilder magic at bay. He knew it wasn't exactly something that would come out during day to day magic use but he also understood her caution. Wild magic, as it was known, came out in extreme circumstances such as fear or anger. However, once it had been unleashed, it was notoriously hard to control. "Which is why I'm going to help you, Hermione. You can protest all you like but you know it is the safest option not just for other people, but for you as well."

The brunette let out a huff knowing he was right. Wild magic at it's highest point was dangerous. While it is strong enough to make the witch or wizard who was the host fall unconscious, it only gets stronger with each minute that passes. It was uncontrollable, much like Fiendfyre in the way that once it started, it was almost impossible to stop. The only way to stop it was to calm the host, which wasn't always possible. Wild magic could not only cause damage and death to people around the host, it was also known to consume the host themselves, burning them from the inside out.

Hermione couldn't deny his words so she slowly nodded her head.

"You get one session," said Hermione. "and I would suggest going somewhere fire retardant and for you to have a shield around yourself. I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me." Draco told her and she raised an eyebrow at him in question. When he didn't respond immediately, she spoke up.

"Draco, this is not the time for you to act the big bad pureblood. I have no control remember. I could very well hurt y-."

"Calm down, Hermione." said Draco with a small smile creeping onto his face. "I have a better idea."

* * *

 **I am so sorry for the delayed update! I celebrated my 23rd birthday back in July and then I ended up moving house and we've only just got settled in our new home.**

 **I know I usually update on a Saturday but I didn't want to wait until next week as we are coming up to two week hiatus while I am on vacation. There will be an update next Saturday 8th but then following that, the next update will be on the 29th! Sorry!**

 **Leave me a review if you're still reading and let me know what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Nine**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"Thanks for walking me home."

"You're welcome," smiled Draco as they stepped inside of her building. The small building only had five floors and was basic yet modern but it was home for Hermione. As much as she sometimes wished she could move to somewhere better, she found comfort living in her poky little flat on the third floor. It was only small but it was her home, her sanctuary. As they headed for the lift, Hermione glanced over her shoulder at the sound of her name being called.

"Hermione!"

An older man with a slight limp was wandering towards her, several letters in hand. He was dressed in casual clothing and had a name tag pinned on his lapel.

"Good afternoon, Martin. How are you?"

"I'm well, Hermione, love." he replied with a grin. "These were dropped off by the postman this morning."

"Thanks." she gratefully took the letters and said a quick goodbye before she wandered towards the lift with Draco hot on her heels. The lift was already waiting for them when they reached it and they both stepped inside, Hermione quickly pressing the button for her floor. As the lift doors slid to a close, Draco glanced up at the brunette in front of him and couldn't help but linger on her face. He had meant what he had said to her. He wouldn't tell a soul about what she had told him. Flint would be a distant memory as far as he was concerned The same could not be said for Hermione who still obviously suffered because of it. He knew it was hard for her, even if it was just self defence but he would not say anything that could risk getting her into trouble. He cared for her and all he wanted to do was help her. Somehow, he would.

When she looked up and noticed him looking at her, she cocked her head to the side in curiosity and he simply flashed her a wide grin. As the lift continued to climb, Draco stepped forward and captured her lips in a kiss while placing a hand in the small of her back, pulling her close. They only had a few blissful seconds before a loud ding and a rough jolt signalled the lift had arrived and the doors began to open. Hermione reluctantly pulled away from him and he groaned out loud.

"Come on," said Hermione with a small giggle at his reaction. "This is my floor."

"Fine, spoilsport." he smirked.

"We can't exactly go up and down in the lift all afternoon snogging, can we?" Hermione pointed out, tucking a few strands of her curls behind her ear.

"Why can't we?" Draco chuckled throatily and she felt her legs go slightly weak. She laughed at him and stepped out of the lift door. He followed close behind and Hermione felt slightly self conscious that he was inside her building. It was nothing compared to his complex and her flat was certainly nothing compared to his penthouse..

"It's not exactly the Ritz," she said as he glanced around the hallway.

"I think it's a lovely building." he replied with a smile, noticing her nervous demeanor as the curly haired witch began to fumble with her clutch bag, fishing out her flat keys. While she pushed the key in the lock, Draco snuck up behind her and pressed himself against her, strong hands on her hips.

"Down boy!" she laughed, trying to turn around in his arms but he simply gripped her hips tighter to keep her in place.

"Let me take you to dinner tomorrow night." he whispered in her ear.

"If I say yes, do I get to pick the restaurant?"

"You can pick anything you want, witch. Just say yes." he growled and nipped at her earlobe making her head fall back against him for a moment.

"Deal." she breathed out and he smirked. "Now come on."

Hermione pulled away from him and clicked open the lock, allowing her flat door to swing open. She let out a loud gasp and her eyes widened when she took a step inside.

"Oh my god!" she squeaked out and tried to spin back around but she found Draco right behind her, blocking her path.

"What is it- Shit,Theo! Put some fucking clothes on, would you?" Draco frowned at the sight of his best friends bare arse on Hermione's couch. He was on top of the blonde from the bar who's head was thrown back as Theo's lips were attached to her neck. At the sound of voices, they both looked up, the blonde letting out a shriek when she realized that they were no longer alone.

"Hermione, oh god!"

"Couldn't have taken it to the bedroom, Ash?" asked Hermione, still turned around with her eyes firmly on the door and not on her best friend who was naked on the couch. Draco brought up a hand to cover his eyes.

"I'm so sorry!" squeaked Ashleigh as she gave Theo a particularly rough shove, making him roll off her and right off the couch with a loud thud and an undignified squawk. When he was off her, Ashleigh scrambled up and grabbed a blanket that was thrown over the back of the couch, wrapping it around her body. She flung a throw cushion from the couch at Theo who groaned and used it to cover his manhood.

"You can open your eyes now, Drake." said Theo in a gruff voice, struggling to his feet whilst attempting to keep the pillow in place. Draco slowly removed his hand from his eyes and nudged Hermione to turn around.

"What are you doing home?" asked Ashleigh, a bright blush now forming on her cheeks.

"It is the middle of the afternoon," Hermione pointed out and her blush deepened.

"Is is?" she glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing that Hermione was right and sheepishly looked down at her feet. "I'm – uh.. I'm sorry you had to walk in on that."

"Maybe it's time I left actually, Ash." Theo said with a sigh as he wandered around the couch, flashing a few white bits on the way to pick up his shirt that was lay on the floor. Picking up the rest of his clothes all the way to the bedroom to get dressed, he smirked when Draco rolled his eyes at him, pulling the door closed behind him.

"Nice to see you again, Draco." said Ashleigh, still a shade of beetroot as she pulled the blanket around her tighter. "Can I get you a drink of something? Coffee maybe?"

"No thank you," replied Draco with a small smile. "I think I'll walk out with Theo."

Right on cue, Theo wandered nonchalantly out of the bedroom, fastening the buttons on his pants as his shirt remained open. He chuckled at Hermione when he saw that she was looking anywhere but him.

"Granger," he acknowledge her with a smirk, running a hand through his tousled hair. "I see you've been walking on the wild side."

Hermione's cheeks grew a pink tinge as he referred to Draco.

"Leave her alone, Theo." said Draco.

He shrugged his shoulders as he fastened his shirt up before he wandered over to Asheigh, giving her bum a squeeze while planting a sweet kiss against her lips.

"Pick you up at eight?" Theo asked her. "I was thinking dinner and a stroll?"

"Sounds perfect." replied Ashleigh with a swoon as she pecked him on the lips again.

"Fabulous." grinned Theo. "You coming Drake?"

"Sure," replied Draco, his eyes going back to Hermione. He stared at her and watched as she tucked a strand of hair behind her eyes, a shy smile falling onto her face. "Hey, I meant what I said earlier. Tomorrow night?"

"I'd really like that." said Hermione. She wrapped her arms around his waist and stood up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against his. Draco lifted his hands to cup at her face and she smiled against his lips. When they pulled apart a few moments later, Ashleigh was staring at them with wide eyes and Theo was scratching at his head with a smirk on his face.

"See you tomorrow night, Hermione."

"What time?"

"Seven?"

"I'll see you tomorrow," she nodded her head and Draco followed Theo out of the door, glancing back at her once as he pulled the door closed behind him.

"So," said Theo when the door had closed. "Granger, huh?"

"I'm not discussing this with you," laughed Draco as he began to walk towards the lift.

"Is she a good lay?" Theo's lips lifted into a smirk and Draco rolled his eyes.

"I'm not answering that, Theo."

"I bet she is a fucking _excellent_ lay."

"THEO!" 

* * *

Draco leaned across the wall of the lift, watching as the numbers counted down and impatiently waiting for the doors to open. When the number finally got to zero, the metal doors slowly opened and he stepped inside, pressing the button for the third floor. He rubbed his tired eyes and was jolted slightly as the lift began to climb upwards, stopping with the same uncomfortable jolt. When the doors opened, he stepped out into the hallway and walked along until he reached the door he needed. A warm feeling overcome him as he reached up to knock on the door as he thought of her. He had spent every day with Hermione since that night in the bar for the past six days. Now, it was Saturday and he had managed to convince her to come with him to his potions lab in London. It wasn't exactly the wizarding world as it was in Muggle London, not that the muggles would know what the building was. It had taken some persuasion but he had finally managed it. As he thought about her, the door opened revealing the exact person on his mind, her hair in messy ringlets that framed her face.

"Hi," she smiled at him, running a hand through her hair to try and flatten it out slightly. No such luck with her wild mane.

"Hello," he replied and stepped closer to give her a kiss. She met him in the middle and their lips crashed together, earning a small squeak of pleasure from Hermione as he pressed her against the opposite door frame. His hands roamed her body and she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Again? Really?" a voice from behind them said and Draco opened one eye to see Ashleigh standing behind them in the kitchen, arms crossed and her eyebrows raised.

Hermione pulled away from Draco for a split second to turn her head and look at her best friend.

"Like you're any better, Ash!" she replied. "At least we're not butt naked on the sofa!"

Ashleigh was silent for a second before she snorted, laughter spilling out of her mouth. "Point taken, carry on."

"We can't," said Hermione, laughing herself when Draco pouted at her. "We're going out."

"Anywhere nice?"

"No, just for some lunch." replied Hermione as she grabbed her bag from beside the door and went to close the door behind her. "I'll see you later."

"Don't be late!" she heard Ashleigh call to her. "I'll order in a takeaway!"

"Make it a Chinese! I'll be home by eight!" shouted Hermione before she closed the door behind her, taking Draco's outstretched hand in her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Draco asked her as he glanced around to make sure no one was in the hallway with them.

"No," replied Hermione honestly. "But I have too."

With one last glance around, Hermione screwed her eyes shut and gripped Draco's hand tight as she felt an all too familiar tug behind her navel. With a crack, they were both gone. 

* * *

**Hello! Filler chapter here for you! I'll be back with another chapter at the end of September once I'm back from vacation.**

 **Please know that I am so grateful for all favourites, follows and reviews! Thank you so much :) Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Ten**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

Hermione gasped and allowed her eyes to slowly open when she realized they had safely landed. She looked down at her shaky hand which was still gripped tightly in Draco's and she let out a breath of relief that it was over.

"Hey," she heard from beside her. "Are you alright?"

"Mhm.." she nodded slowly as she tried to control her breathing. She knew Draco had done all the work but that was the first time she had used magic in around three years. It was a shock to the system if she was honest. She let out a slow breath and blinked twice before glancing up at him. "Sorry."

"You have no need to apologize, Hermione." said Draco softly with a gentle squeeze of her hand. "I know how difficult this must be for you but I want to help you get past this."

"Where are we?" she asked, glancing around the alleyway they had landed in.

"We're outside of our potions warehouse in Muggle London." replied Draco as he walked towards one of the large black doors fitted with several big padlocks. With a quick wave of his hands, the locks all sprung open and he pushed the door open slowly. "I thought this would be a good place to practice."

"Is it soundproof?" asked Hermione as he warily stepped inside into the darkness.

"Soundproof, waterproof.. you name it."

"How about fireproof?" Hermione asked timidly and Draco sighed, glancing at the ground.

"Not quite," he told her, slamming the heavy door shut. She could hear clinking outside of the door and she realized it was the locks closing themselves back up once more. "You have nothing to worry about. As long as you relax, you'll be fine."

"I don't feel fine,"

"Hermione," he muttered, taking her face in his hands. "You're going to be fine."

She gulped, feeling her face flush at his closeness. She had to scold herself for thinking of him taking her right there against the wall in the darkness. That wasn't what they were there for after all. After a few seconds, he let her go and gave her a small reassuring smile. Her hands were shaking as he took hers in his and lead her along the pitch black hallways, emerging through a door into a potions lab. There were cauldrons bubbling all around and little glass potion jars lined up. Hermione glanced around, confused when she couldn't see anyone else around. Surely a business such as this had staff?

"Where is everyone?"

"Lunch," Draco responded, glancing down at his watch. "We're got about an hour before the hoards descend back down here."

She didn't move when he motioned to a door on the opposite side of the room.

"Are you coming?" he asked.

Her legs shook as she stood and she slowly shook her head. He let out a small sigh.

"You have to overcome this, Hermione." he told her, holding out his hand. "You're in control, remember? We just need to get rid of those bad thoughts and monsters in your head."

She wandered towards him, once more taking his hand in hers and he lead her through the door and down a set of steps. Hermione took the stairs one at a time, taking a few seconds on each to control her breathing. She knew Draco was right and that she just needed to relax but she was terrified. She was scared of hurting him and of hurting herself. When she finally reached the bottom, he helped her down the last step. The brunette used her other hand to grip on the strap of her bag so that it stayed in place on her shoulder. They continued on down a narrow hallway to a thick black door at the very end. Draco flicked open the lock and stepped inside, pulling out his wand and illuminated the entire room. He slowly manoeuvred her inside of the room and closed the door behind them, all the while stroking her arm gently in an attempt to calm her down. Her eyes flashed around the room. There were no windows and they were quite clearly underground. The walls were thick and metallic looking and the lights flickered slightly above them.

"Okay," said Draco. "It's now or never."

"I don't suppose I can chose never, can I?" she asked with a small smirk and he chuckled, shaking his head.

"Nope."

With a huff, Hermione shrugged the bag of her shoulder and it hit the floor with a thump. Bending down, she unzipped the bag and there on top sat her wand. The piece of wood she had kept hidden away for the best part of three years was now directly in front of her. She hadn't so much as laid eyes on it in years, never mind pick it up. It had stayed hidden away in this old gym back and shoved to the back of her wardrobe. She glanced up at Draco and he nodded his head in encouragement.

"I can't.." she whispered, her eyes not leaving his.

"Yes, you can." he told her firmly. "You're Hermione Granger. You can bloody do anything."

His words rang in her ears and with a gulp, she reached down and picked up the slender piece of wood between her fingers. As she did, she felt her hair stand up on it's own as tiny sparks of electricity shot through her finger tips. Her breathing became deeper and with each breath, the shocks became stronger. She only held the wand between her fingertips but the shocks were making her entire body jump.

"Okay, slowly now." she heard Draco's voice beside her but her eyes never left her wand. She began to rise up from the ground and gathering all of her courage, she closed her hand around the wood. A loud rumble of thunder sounded and Hermione let out a yelp when the wand suddenly shocked her, sparks coming from her fingertips. A bright light surrounded her as a further crash of thunder sounded. She screamed this time, brandishing her wand in front of her. Hermione screwed her eyes shut just as a burst of power shot from the tip of her wand which then fell from the witch's hand. The curse however did not stop. In fact, it was heading straight for Draco.

"Shit!"

Draco managed to duck just in time as the curse shot above his head and hit the wall, leaving a large crack down the middle. He span around to see the damaged wall, satisfied that the walls were not going to crumble around him. He gave a wave of his own wand but this did nothing to patch it up. He cocked his head to the side and tried once more. Nothing. Whatever the curse was, it had got into the wall good. It was going to take some fixing, that was for sure. It was also something that would need to wait.

The blond turned back around to face the woman behind him and he frowned as he watched her slump to the ground, her wand rolled a few feet away from her. He took a few steps closer to hear, listening to her soft sobs.

"Hermione," he spoke softly, not wanting to spook her.

She sniffed and lifted her head to look at him, her cheeks tear-stained.

"Hey, come on," said Draco. "Don't cry."

"I never wanted to hurt anyone." she replied with another sniff, her gaze dropping back to the floor where her wand sat. It was almost like it was taunting her now, laughing at her inability to use it. Laughing at her failure. "I almost hurt you!"

"But you didn't," he pointed out. Hermione let out a huff at that.

"I almost-"

He sunk down to her level and sat beside her on the floor, placing his fingers underneath her chin and lifted her head up so that she was once again looking into his eyes.

"You didn't hit me, Hermione. I'm fast." he said with a smirk as she diverted her eyes to the floor once more. "I was a seeker in school, remember,"

"A pretty shit one." she mumbled and he began to chuckle at that. She glanced up at him and he playfully bopped her on the nose with his finger.

" _Meow,_ " Hermione giggled lightly at him and he smiled. "Just because you preferred Saint Potter."

"Harry was a good seeker."

"He still is from what I hear. He plays charity matches sometimes and he always catches the snitch." said Draco, trying to pull her mind elsewhere.

"Really?" asked Hermione, her mind drifting to a memory of a twelve year old Harry flying around on his broom with a huge smile on his face. Draco nodded his head at her question. "I'm surprised you keep track of him."

"I don't." replied Draco. "Like I said, you three were pretty hard to avoid. The Golden Trio were always plastered on the front pages of The Prophet. That didn't change when you left, Hermione."

"I miss him," said Hermione honestly as she swiped a finger under her eye to catch a tear that fell. She sniffed as Draco gave her hand a small squeeze. "Draco, why is this happening to me?"

"I don't know," Draco told her. "But if you'll let me, I'll try my best to find out."

"I don't know if I can try this again." she replied with a startled look on her face. "Look at what happened this time."

"I think you should rest now," said Draco. "I told you I had an idea, Hermione. I'd really like to test it if you'll let me."

Hermione sighed.

"What do you need me to do?"

* * *

"Are you ready?"

Hermione blinked and glanced up, spotting Draco above her. They had been sitting on the floor for around forty-five minutes just resting and talking. They had heard people return from their lunch break, milling about in the potions lab above them. That thought made Hermione nervous but Draco assured her she was fine down here with him. He told her that no one would come down here, that the door was locked. With a huff, Hermione grabbed his outstretched hands and he pulled her up from the ground.

"This is only going to work if you relax, Hermione." he told her and she slowly nodded. "I think we should try it without your wand for starters. If this works, then we can work our way back to the wand."

"What exactly is your idea?" she asked him.

"It's a very simple one really," said Draco with a small smirk as he let go of her hands. She allowed her arms to drop to her sides and she stared up at him curiously. "I think you need a distraction. You're thinking too much when it comes to magic."

"I can't help it, " muttered Hermione. "I just panic..."

"I know you do,"

Draco circled her where she stood and came up behind her, his hands resting against her hips as he pulled her flush against his body. A blush crept onto her cheeks at his bold move in what was essentially a public space. She knew no one would come down here but it still made her stomach flip. One hand moved upwards to stroke her arm, producing goosebumps on her skin. She let out a shaky breath and her eyes fluttered closed.

"Keep your eyes open," Draco told her and her eyes snapped back open as she felt his right hand slide under hers to lift it up, her palm flat. "Don't think about it, Hermione. Just do it."

With that, his hand left go of hers and resumed it's place on her hip, his left hand still running up and down her arm. She let out a shiver at his touch and smiled slightly, her hand in the same place with palm facing upwards in front of her. He gently kissed her bare shoulders and she let out a delighted whimper as he slowly trailed his lips up her neck, stopping when he reached her ear.

Hermione began trying to concentrate but she felt like her skin was on fire. His touch was like heaven as she felt his hot breath against her skin. She groaned when he chose that moment to take her earlobe in his teeth and nibble on it. As he did this, his right hand moved from her hip upwards to rest on her stomach underneath her clothes. The brunette slumped against him and her outstretched hand clenched tightly as she tried to bite back a moan when his fingers trailed down towards her pants. Hermione could feel something tickling in her hand but she was too busy to care. His fingers were playing with the button of her jeans and she allowed her eyes to flutter closed once more. She heard Draco let out a throaty chuckle.

"Hermione, you did it."

"What?" she whispered breathlessly, ignoring everything around her.

"Look at your hand."

Opening her eyes, she glanced down at her hand when was still firmly clenched. She could see green strands poking out between her fingers and she cocked her head to the side, allowing her hand to fall open. A flower popped up immediately, not looking crushed or damaged, despite the position it had been in. It was a beautiful yet tiny buttercup with bright yellow petals. She gasped at the sight of it and realized that everything was still in one piece.

"I did it."

She span around in the blond's arms with a huge smile on her face, the flower vanishing from her hand as she did. He was grinning back at her, glad his idea has actually worked. He knew she was still in there and more than capable. She just needed a distraction, something to pull her out of her own head.

"Draco, I did it!" she let out a squeal of joy and pounced on him, her lips attacking his. He gripped her waist and the two of them fell to the floor with a bump, him breaking her fall. Hands roamed as the pair joyfully celebrated, ripping off pieces of clothing as they did, their synchronized moans filling the room.

* * *

 ** _I know I'm a week late with the update but I'm only just getting over the jetlag from my vacation and I'm back to work full time. See you next week for an ON TIME update! Leave a review and let me know your thoughts._**

 ** _Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!_**


	11. Chapter 11

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Eleven**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

Draco let out a small sigh of happiness as he glanced over at Hermione who lay beside him in bed. For the past few weeks, they had slowly worked on controlling Hermione's magic and she was starting to get better at it. She was able to do small spells now without blowing anything up and that was progress in Draco's mind. She would only attempt it when he was with her and he understood why. She had become dependant on him when it came to magic, too scared to try it on her own in case she lashed out and hurt someone. He knew she needed the confidence to also try it on her own but he still understood that it was a long way off yet.

In the few short weeks that she had been back in his life, he had seen a change in her already. He had seen a change in himself too. All he wanted now was for her to be happy and if he was honest, he wanted her to happy with him. When she had told him about what happened with Flint, he had been shocked beyond belief but he managed to push past that. He knew she was not a cold blooded killer and all she wanted was to protect herself from a man who had no business touching her. He knew she would never kill someone deliberately.

Hermione stirred beside him and he rolled onto his side to stare at her, pulling her close to him. She slipped her arm over his middle to hug him back and he rested his head atop hers, breathing her in. With her eyes still closed, she snuggled into him.

"Morning," she muttered and he smiled at the sound of her voice.

"Good morning,"

"What are your plans for today?"

"I was thinking of going to the lab and doing some work. Don't you have to be at work today?" Draco asked her and she shrugged.

"Only for a few hours."

"Well, how about you meet me at the lab once you finish and we can have lunch together?"

"I think that sounds lovely," her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head to place a gentle kiss against his lips. "I'll grab something on the way. Any preference on lunch?"

"Surprise me." said Draco with a smile. With another kiss, she pulled herself out of his bed and wandered across to her bag that was settled on top of a chair in the corner of the room, her body only covered by the sheet she had dragged from the bed. She picked up her wash bag and wandered towards his bathroom, stopping in the doorway to look back at him. Her lips quirked up into a smirk and she motioned with her head towards the bathroom behind her.

"You coming in or what?"

Draco bounced out of bed immediately, not bothering to cover up as he rushed around the room towards her. He skidded to a stop making a grab for her arse as she playfully squealed, rushing for the shower with him hot on her heels. She flipped the switch, dropped the sheet and stepped inside the shower. Hermione let out a gasp as water rained down over the two of them, the blond's hand reaching out to grab her breast and his lips covering hers. The sound of her giggle filled the small room which was quickly followed by the sound of her moans.

* * *

Hermione juggled a cardboard drinks holder containing two steaming hot cups filled to the brim with coffee as she tried to fish her phone from her bag which was slung over her shoulder. Her wrist was lopped through a paper handle of a white bag filled with takeaway food and she was starving, the smell of the hot food in the bag wafting up towards her nostrils. She was running a little late and was almost at the lab, but she had no way of getting in. She eventually found her phone and began to search for Draco's name in her phone. Draco had bought a mobile phone to be able to keep in contact with her, knowing he couldn't very well send an owl to her flat where her muggle room mate lived.

The brunette finally found Draco's name and brought the phone to her ear, teetering on her heels and trying not to drop anything.

"Hello?"

At the sound of his voice through the phone speaker, Hermione's stomach did a flip and a goofy smile spread across her face.

"Draco, I'm almost outside." she said into the phone. "I'll be at the back door in a couple of minutes."

"I'll meet you down there."

Draco was standing against the door frame when she arrived and he took the drinks from her, reliving her aching wrist. He kissed her hairline gently and placed his hand on the small of her back to direct her in through the door. She had been into his potions lab several times since they had started retraining her magic but this was the first time she had just came to have lunch with him. She wasn't really sure how to define what they were doing but this seemed very much like a relationship. Not that she minded at all, she really liked Draco and they had spent almost every day together since that first night in the bar. To come to his work place just to have lunch with him seemed serious and it made Hermione nervous. She didn't know how he felt yet. Sure, she knew he enjoyed spending time with her, he was happy to help with her magic and he seemed perfectly happy with the sex, but she was still concerned. She knew it couldn't last but she also knew it would hurt if he felt nothing for her and this was just a bit of fun to him.

"Hey, you remember Jack, right?" asked Draco and Hermione nodded, remembering the almost shy man who had danced with two of her friends, Zoe and Holly.

"Yeah, I do," she replied. "Why?"

"He's up in the lab right now." Hermione immediately stiffened at that. Other wizards meant the chance that someone would mention where she was and that thought terrified her. She only just coped with Theo Nott and that was only because of Ash. "We can go through to my office but we have to pass through the main labs. Is that alright with you?"

"It's fine," replied Hermione. "I guess hanging around here almost everyday, I was bound to bump into other wizards sooner or later."

"Hermione, if you're not comfortable with this, I can apparate us back to my place?"

Hermione shook her head and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"It's fine, Draco." she smiled. "Now, come on. The food will be getting cold."

* * *

After a quick hello to Jack, who was to busy concentrating on brewing several batches of Skele-Gro to notice her much, which was definitely something that Hermione appreciated, they wandered through the large potions lab and towards the offices near the back of the building. There were two large offices, both with plaques on the doors in silver with a green snake curved around the sharp edges. One read Draco Malfoy, the other Theo Nott.

Draco pushed open the door and Hermione rushed inside, placing down the bag of food on the first available surface she could find, which happened to be a table. She glanced around, his office was not something that she had actually seen before and it sure was different that she thought it would be. The blond behind her had closed the door and had followed after her, handing her one of the paper coffee cups from the holder, which she gladly took from him to take a sip of the liquid inside. He seemed to notice her wide eyes from looking around and he smirked.

"Not what you were expecting?" he asked which made her look over at him.

"No, not at all." said Hermione with a shake of her head. "It's very light and airy."

"What were you expecting? The Slytherin dungeons?"

Hermione laughed at that and turned to fish the cartons of food from the white bag. They were still hot, something Hermione was thankful for.

"What's for lunch?"

"Do you like Italian food?"

"It's my favourite, love." he smiled at her and Hermione felt her knees go weak as she took the top off of the first carton to reveal spaghetti bolognese. She breathed in the smell and watched as Draco conjured two plates and two sets of cutlery for them both. The second carton was filled with chicken and mushroom pasta in a creamy sauce and she also had some garlic bread for them to share. They sat down and she began to split the food onto both plates, talking animatedly to one another. As Draco popped a piece of pasta in his mouth, Hermione couldn't help but feel like she wanted every day to be like this, here with him.

* * *

Once the food was gone and both Hermione and Draco were equally stuffed, they sat on his chair together, Hermione in his lap and he ran his finger up and down her thigh over the top of her black pencil skirt.

"Do you have to leave?" Draco asked her, almost pouting as he did. Hermione giggled at him.

"I _should_ be going," she told him. "I promised Danielle we would go out shopping this afternoon."

"Danielle.." said Draco as he began to think. "She was that little brunette from the bar, right? The one who took a fancy to Andrew?"

"That's her," she said. "She actually has a date with him tonight and she wanted my help to find the right outfit. Terribly girly, I know but I promised."

"Hey," laughed Draco. "A promise is a promise. I'm glad she's going out with Andy, he's a good guy."

"What are you going to do for the rest of the afternoon?"

"I'm not really sure," was Draco's reply. "I know we have a big batch of Polyjuice to brew but I'm kind of thinking of going back to that-" he pointed to the potions table by the window which had a large black cauldron on it with steam coming out of the top.

"Why, what is that?" asked Hermione, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "I was meaning to ask about it earlier."

"I've been wanting to talk to you about it actually,"

"Talk to me?"

"Yes, It is for you after all." said Draco with a nod.

"What?" asked Hermione, growing more confused by the minute. "Why is it for me?"

"Well, I've been trying to work on a potion that will help you, with your magic I mean."

"Draco-"

"I want to help you control it. It should help suppress the dark magic."

"You're trying to cure me?"

Draco sighed and kissed her forehead, making her smile.

"You don't need to be cured, Hermione." he told her. "You just need help to control it."

"You have no idea how much this means to me, Draco." said the brunette from her spot on his lap. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Draco replied. "The _real_ reason that I wanted to talk to youabout it though, is probably not what you're going to want me to say."

"Why not?"

"I want you to help work on it with me."

Hermione's face dropped at that, a gasp coming from her mouth.

"Are you _crazy_!?" she said, her voice going up an octave. "You want _me_ to work on a potion? _Me_? The same person that almost injured you while using magic the other day."

"Hermione-"

"-Yet you want to let me lose with a cauldron and potion ingredients which have tendencies to explode. Just _look_ at what happened when Seamus Finnigan was let lose with a cauldron.. it will be just like that!"

She was rambling, she knew that and she watched him roll his dark grey eyes at her.

"Hermione, you are _not_ Seamus bloody Finnigan." he said, his hand reaching up to cup her cheek. "You, Hermione Granger, are one of the best potioneers I have ever seen. Granted, I only saw you brew potions across a classroom but I know how good you are."

"Draco-"

"I know that you're more than capable of helping me with that. So, what do you say?"

"I'm not helping," said Hermione, defiantly. "I will watch from the sidelines and offer pointers, but that is all that you're going to get from me. _And_ you only get fifty minutes because I'm meant to be meeting Danielle at her place in around an hour and a half so you better get a move on."

Draco chuckled and she lifted herself from his lap, staring dauntingly across at the cauldron. She took in a deep breath as she watched Draco wander over and begin picking up ingredients, shooting a side eye to Hermione who had settled on the black leather couch by the potions bench. The corner of his mouth quirked up into a smirk as he watched her cross one leg over the other and pick up a potions book from the side. Maybe he stood a chance of getting her help after all.

* * *

 **It's Saturday which means it's update day. For a story that started off originally as a one shot and then was only meant to be a few chapters, this is looking like it will be about 20 chapters long as my ideas for this story just keep growing. I hope you like this. All mistakes are my own as this story does not have a BETA so sorry!**

 **Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Twelve**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Hermione flicked through the pages of a potions book, glancing up every so often to look at Draco, who was stirring the thick liquid in the cauldron. Wisps of silver steam were floating above the black cauldron, the smell of lavender filling his office. She took in a deep breath, her eyes stopping on a potion ingredient shown in the book.

"What about powdered moonstone?" Hermione asked him, turning the page.

"I like your thinking," replied Draco, wiping his brow. "Draught of Peace?"

"It might help calm things," she said, motioning to herself. He snorted and continued to stir.

Silence engulfed them for the next few minutes as the pair grew deep into their own thoughts, only the sounds of turning pages and sloshing liquids from inside the cauldron could be heard.

"I've got it!" shouted Hermione suddenly, making Draco jump. His head shot up as he looked over at her. Her nose remained buried in the book she was holding and he couldn't stop a smile from spreading onto his face. He had it bad, he knew that. Just looking at her gave him a buzz.

"What?" he asked her and he stopped stirring.

Hermione remained silent but slowly rose her feet, her eyes not moving from the book in her hands. Her eyes were wide as she wandered across the room, coming to a stop beside Draco, who by now had turned to watch her.

"What are you thinking?" he questioned as he could practically see the cogs turning inside of her head. She shrugged.

"I don't know if it will work, but I can try." she muttered, placing the book down on the bench and her eyes began scanning the shelves above them which were filled with potion ingredients.

"If what will work?"

Draco crossed his arms across his chest as she bumped her hip with his, essentially pushing him out of the way. He chuckled deeply, watching her reach up for a jar on the top shelf. Even in her heels, she still wasn't tall enough. He scooted closer to her so that he was standing over her and placed a hand on her hip. With his free hand, he reached up and grabbed the jar she was aiming for. She smiled softly at him when he handed the jar, which he could now see contained chopped up ginger roots. He placed a small kiss against her temple and she let out a breath she had been holding, a content sigh falling from her lips.

"Are you going to share your brilliant idea?" asked Draco.

"I will if it works," replied Hermione as she popped the lid and shook a handful of ginger roots into her hand. Counting carefully, she threw six into the cauldron which released a large puff of steam and tipped the rest back into the jar. Draco watched, almost entranced as she plucked glass jars off the shelves, each containing different items and she began to throw the ingredients into the cauldron, only stopping to ask Draco to provide a little magic every now and again. She was acting like this was so natural to her, more natural than he had seen her since she had come back into his life. She had an obvious gift and talent for potion making, that much was clear.

Hermione splashed some Salamander Blood into the cauldron and the liquid turned a bright purple colour, bubbling and popping rather loudly. Draco, who had remained quiet during all of this, finally spoke when she took a step back away from the cauldron, screwing a lid back on the powdered moonstone jar.

"You're amazing," he breathed out, shaking his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe she had created a perfect combination after being away for so long. Between the two of them, he knew they had cracked it.

"No," she shook her own head at that. "I'm just logical and I have a very good memory."

"Hermione, I was serious about that job offer, you know."

"I know you were," said Hermione with a small sigh. She knew he was serious and she loved being around him but she also knew she couldn't. "But I was serious when I told you I wouldn't return to the wizarding world."

"You're here now, aren't you? What's the difference?" asked Draco.

Hermione brushed her hair from her face and she let her eyes drop to the floor. He was right. She was there, in a busy building for a wizarding business. She was more than happy to be there with him but she couldn't deny the feeling of terror she felt if she heard voices outside of the door. She couldn't escape that feeling. She was scared and she knew she shouldn't be. She trusted Draco after all. She didn't have any reason to think he would betray her. However, Hermione had to be realistic. How long could the relationship last before she was forced to call it off?

"Draco-"

She was cut off by a cheery pop song playing through out the room. Draco cocked his head to the side and watched as the brunette span on her heels and wandered across the room to her bag. She rummaged inside for a minute before pulling her phone out and lifting it to her ear.

"Hello? Dani, Hi! No, I'll be there soon. I'm not far." said Hermione, speaking into the phone. "Alright, I'll see you soon. Bye!"

When she had put the phone back in her bag, Draco chose to speak.

"You're leaving?"

Hermione looked up at the sound of his voice and she inwardly groaned as she watched him sheepishly lift his hand up, his fingers rubbing the back of his head as his muscles strained against his shirt. The brunette felt a surge of heat overcome her and she squeaked quietly.

"I told you fifty minutes." was her reply, still staring at him as her eyes flashed with lust for a single second. He smirked at the look on her face, recognizing it.

"What did you put in that potion?"

"Nothing." she gasped out, feeling hotter by the second, like her skin was on fire.

"You breathed in the powdered moonstone, didn't you?" his smirk widened at this, stalking towards her like a jungle cat. She shook her head quickly, but the squeak that slipped from her lips was telling. She crossed a leg over the other as she stood, tensing and squeezing to try and stop the feeling, anything to _stop it_. She needed friction, she needed-

"Hermione," she heard Draco say and she could practically hear his smirk now. She could not longer see him however as her vision was starting to blur, her breaths becoming shallow. "Hermione, are you alright?"

"The moonstone-" she groaned and screwed her eyes shut, grinding her teeth together. She knew what she had done almost immediately. Powdered moonstone was a common potion ingredient. It was not only used in anxiety and peace potions but if ingested during the right circumstances, it become a essential part of love or lust potion. One didn't need to ingest it however, if you breathed in too much during brewing stages, it could set off similar effects although just not as long lasting. Draco knew this, which is why he was always so careful around the powder. Hermione, having been away for so long, had completely forgotten. "The fucking _moonstone_!"

Draco began to creep closer towards her until he was direct in front of her. She bit her bottom lip, her eyes wide and filled with sexual desire and his smirk only widened.

"You need to take deeper breaths," said Draco, swiping a finger across her cheek making her gasp.

"No," she gulped out. "Draco, I need..."

Hermione trailed off as she took a fistful of his shirt in her hands. His hand gripped at her hips and his lips were inches from hers.

"Tell me what you need, Hermione." his voice was low, almost a throaty whisper. The sound sent shivers down her spine, producing goosebumps on her arms.

"Fuck it, I need _you."  
_  
"But Danielle-"

"Danielle can wait!"

Draco needed no convincing. His strong hands slipped down and gripped the back of her thighs, hoisting her up as his lips attacked hers. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her off towards the desk. Setting her down, he swiped at objects which went crashing down to the floor and Hermione winced at the smashing sound.

"I'll fix it later," he muttered before kissing her once more, pulling at her clothes to remove them as quick as he possibly could.

* * *

Hermione hurried to Danielle's flat block, running her hand through her curls to try and flatten the uncontrollable sex hair she currently had going on. She knew Danielle would pick up on it immediately and wouldn't let it go. Reaching up to ring the doorbell of the main door, she was buzzed in and she ran up the stairs, trying to take two at a time. She was forty minutes later after all and Danielle was going to kill her! When she reached the bright red door, which she recognized so well, she knocked and was met rather quickly by a red faced brunette with her hands on her hips.

"What time do you call this?"

"Sorry," Hermione said, smoothing out her pencil skirt as best she could. Danielle raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I was just-"

"Who is he?"

"Sorry?" asked Hermione, eyes wide and telling.

"Who's the lucky guy, Mione?" Danielle's smirk turned into a smile as she grabbed her bag and her house keys, closing the door behind her.

"He's – It's – No one." she stuttered out.

"So he is a he then?" laughed Danielle as she linked arms with her friend leading her down the hallway.

"Shut up,"

"Come on," said Danielle with a laugh. "You can tell me all about this 'no one' on the way."

* * *

Hermione tucked a strand of hair behind her ears as she strolled towards Emerald Potions Supplies back door. It was late in the day and Draco should be due to leave any minute. Yet, he had invited her for some extra training this evening. The had let the potion simmer for two days and Draco thought today would be the day to try it. He met her at the door with a smile and a kiss before leading her inside. The office was deserted, the staff members having gone home for the evening. He walked with her down to the modified room where they did all of their training, closing the door behind them. He had set a table in the centre of the room with a tea set in the middle. A bright red table cloth covered the wooden piece of furniture and the flowery white teapot sat front and centre, surrounded by several cups and saucers. Behind the china sat the black cauldron bubbling and spitting. The potion.

"What's on the agenda today then?" asked Hermione with a smile as she shrugged her bag off her shoulder and letting it fall to the floor.

"Teacups." replied Draco, leading her slowly towards the table. "I want you to try some basic transfiguration. Small, precise movements with wandless magic is a step in the right direction. We can try something a little more difficult later, after you've taken some of the potion."

"Sounds good," said Hermione with a small smile as she wandered over to pick up the small white teacup with pretty pink flowers on the side, lifting it away from the saucer that it was settled on. He followed after her and placed a gentle hand against her arm as she took a deep breath.

Hermione allowed her eyes to flutter shut for a second, concentrating on the feeling of Draco's fingers running up and down her arm, tickling and distracting. She breathed out slowly, her mouth forming an 'O' shape as she did before she let herself smile.

"Remember," Draco whispered into her ear. "Slow and small yet very precise movements."

"Mhmm," nodded Hermione, still enjoying the feeling of his fingers, trying to stop her mind from drifting onto other things, like where she _really_ wanted Draco's fingers to be. With a slow wave of her left hand, the teacup that was balanced precariously in her right palm changed into a clear shot glass, cold against her skin.

Draco peppered soft kisses against her cheek as the shot glass changed back into the teacup. She giggled lightly as it rocked back and forth on her hand, settling after a few moments.

"Well done," Draco said, his breath tickling her ear and his voice like music. "Now, I'm going to move away slightly. Just relax and change it again."

True to his word, Draco stepped back and removed his hand from her. Sucking in a bought of courage, she blinked twice and then with her mind completely focused, she watched as the teacup transformed into the shot glass once more. She gasped and let out a delighted laugh as she realised what she had done. Up until now, Hermione had been completely dependant on Draco's presences while doing magic. He had to be impossibly close, he had to have some form of touch on her. She needed him, she still did. Joy overcome her, however, at the realisation that she had done this by herself for the first time in years.

"Well done!" praised Draco from behind her. She didn't turn around to face him. She didn't want to lose her concentration.

For several more minutes, Hermione changed the teacup to a shot glass and back again, enjoying the small buzzing feeling she was feeling in her fingers as she did. It felt safe, like she wasn't overdoing it. She was just about to change the tiny china cup again when she heard a voice behind her.

"Hello Hermione,"

Hermione let out a gasp and the cup fell from her hands, smashing into pieces on the floor. _She knew that voice._ Her hands shook as she slowly turned around, spotting a man leaning against the door frame. She hadn't even heard the door open. He looked exactly the same. The same shaggy black hair, the same deep green eyes and the same rounded black glasses. She glanced over at Draco for a second who was glancing between the two with slightly wide eyes, his arms crossed over his chest. Looking back at the man by the door, she let out a shaky breath and sighed.

"Harry."

* * *

 **Sorry this is a little late! Yesterday was my four year anniversary with my boyfriend so we went away and I didn't get much of chance to be near my laptop to get this uploaded.**

 **Unbeta'd so all mistakes are my own.**

 **Leave a review and let me know your thoughts!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Thirteen.**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**.

* * *

"Hello Hermione," repeated Harry, a small smile creeping onto his face.

"What-" Hermione's eyes were wide, like they were about to pop out of her skull. _What the hell was he doing here!?_

"How are you doing?" asked Harry taking a step inside the room. Harry let out a small sigh when he noticed the wide-eyed expression on her face. Raising his arms towards her, her motioned her towards him with his outstretched fingers. "I've missed you, Mione. Don't I even get a hug?"

"Stay back!" Hermione stepped backwards, feeling herself going into shock, her breathing becoming heavy. Harry's brow furrowed and his head cocked to the side. She looked over at Draco who was walking towards her but she held up a hand in his direction which made him stop in his tracks.

"Hermione, calm down-" said Draco.

"No, don't come any closer!" She began to hyperventilate and Draco sighed slowly, rubbing at his eyes.

"Potter, you're early!" he hissed and Hermione's eyes widened at the realisation that this was Draco's doing.i Draco had invited him here. Her eyes shot over to him, a feeling of betrayal sweeping through her body.

"Hermione-" Draco tried to talk but she cut him off.

"How could you!" she screamed at him, shaking her head in disbelief as she tried to catch her breath. It was becoming more and more difficult to breath. It was like the walls were closing in around her. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as her eyes flicked back and forth between the two men frantically. "How could you do this to me?"

"Hermione, I didn't mean-"

"Stop talking!" she screamed, bringing her hands up to her head. The thoughts whirling around in her mind screamed back at her. _This is it. You'll never escape. They've come to take you..._

"Hermione, listen to me!" shouted Draco, inching closer towards her now that she had her eyes closed. "No one is going to hurt you. You need to calm down."

"You promised me," she began to sob as her fingernails dug into her skin beside her temples. Draco could see her loosing control, he needed to calm her down and fast.

"You told me that you missed him! I just-"

"You just _what,_ Draco?" snapped Hermione, her eyes popping open to glare at him, the tears still running down her cheeks. Her eyes were on fire. He gulped at the sight of white sparks crackling from her fingertips.

Harry remained quiet behind them, just watching them fight. He hadn't spoken to Draco Malfoy in years and suddenly, he was in his office telling him he knew where Hermione was. He had thought for sure he had been lying but here she was, right in front of him. She was completely different however, her temper was still there. He could see the fire in her eyes as she stared at the blond before her, even from the distance he was at. He didn't know what Malfoy had to do with this but he was just glad that she was here.

"You _just_ thought that you knew what was best for me!" she snarled, taking a dangerous step towards him. He stumbled back away from her, holding out his hands in front of him, his palms facing her. "You have no idea, Draco! You had no right! Why couldn't you just leave it alone?"

"Hermione, please. I care about you." said Draco. "Don't do this. Don't push me away! I was just trying to-"

"Just trying to what?" she let out a small laugh. "Help?"

"Yes!"

She was moving away from him now, looking between him and Harry with panicked eyes, her hands moving back up to rub at her temples. She began to pace back and forth, not noticing the looks between Harry and Draco.

Harry moved to step forward towards her but Draco raised his hand and shook his head, knowing that he had to calm her down. Her hair was already frizzy, crackling and snapping as the magic surged through her. She kicked at a piece of broken china on the floor and let out a shriek of anger.

"Hermione, I will explain everything to you but please, I need you to calm down. You're not in any danger here, I promise you. You're not in any trouble-"#

Harry glanced over a Draco with a confused expression. _Why would she be in trouble?_

"Don't you _fucking_ dare tell me to calm down, Draco Malfoy!" shouted Hermione.

"Hermione, don't be angry with him-" said Harry.

" _Potter.."_ said Draco in a warning tone, turning with wide eyes to shake his head.

"You need to leave, Harry." snapped Hermione. "You have no place here and Draco had no right to invite you."

Harry felt like he had been stabbed through the heart. This woman was his best friend and he had spent every day for the past three years searching for her, determined to find her. Now that he had, she was pushing him away again. He didn't know what he had done to hurt her, but based off her reaction to seeing him, it must have been something bad. He couldn't understand why. He would _never_ hurt her. She was his Hermione, best friends since first year, one third of who he was. She was the one who always understood him, who would do anything for him and vice versa. Ginny may have been the love of his life, but there were two other woman who held a place in his heart. One was his mother, the other Hermione. He didn't know what was wrong with her, he just knew he wanted her back in his life. So much had changed in his life since he had last seen her, but his love for her had not. He played with his wedding band around his finger, knowing that Ginny missed her best friend too. She talked about Hermione every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Whenever little James, their toddler did something cute or funny, Ginny would always remark that Hermione would have loved to have seen it.

"Hermione," said Harry slowly, ignoring Draco who was shaking his head at him frantically. "I've missed you so much. Please, talk to me."

"I don't want to talk to you. I just want you to _leave._ " she gritted her teeth and a rumble of thunder was heard above them. Draco gulped and both he and Harry looked up at the noise.

"What was that?" asked Harry, glancing over at Draco.

"Hermione! You need to stop this!" Draco shouted at her as another crash of thunder sounded.

Hermione bent down on the ground, clutching at her head and she began to sob.

"Why is this happening. Why.." she muttered as she cried, ignoring both men and the noise around her.

"HERMIONE!"

Covering her ears, Hermione let out a loud scream, trying to block everything and everyone out. A large, loud blast took Harry off his feet. Draco threw up a shield, however he was not quick enough to cover the panicked brunette. Hermione was knocked backward, her head smacking off the floor. Another crash of thunder was followed by a lightening strike, hitting the ground with a loud crack. Sparks flew and ignited creating a bright orange burning flame.

"SHIT!" Draco shouted as the flames encircled her, towering over the petite brunette and surrounding her in a tight circle, flickering and burning. A loud crash signalled the table falling over behind her, sending the cauldron and the rest of the tea set flying to the ground, smashing the china into a miillion pieces and spilling the potion everywhere.

"MALFOY, DO SOMETHING!" yelled Harry who was holding the side of his head and blinking rapidly, his vision blurred from being knocked over with force.

"I'M TRYING, POTTER!" snapped Draco who was attempting to put the fire out using his wand. He was trying to catch a glimpse of Hermione, but the flames were too large and the smoke was starting to cloud his vision. "HERMIONE, WAKE UP!"

"AGUAMENTI!" shouted Harry, who had scrambled to his feet and held his wand out in front of him. A stream of clear water shot from the tip of his wand and he began spraying it over the flames. The water, however, did absolutely nothing and the flames roared higher, hissing and crackling as they reached the ceiling.

"HERMIONE!"

* * *

Hermione groaned and immediately choked as she tried to catch her breath. Her chest felt tight and she was struggling to breath. She allowed her eyes to flutter open and let out a gasp when she realized that she was surrounded by smoke and flames. With a cry of panic, Hermione struggled to her feet and as she stumbled to keep away from the flames as best as she could, that was when she heard it. Her name.

"HERMIONE!"

She knew that voice. It was Draco.

"DRACO!" she screamed back, lifting her hand to cover her mouth as she inhaled a large amount of smoke. The flames licked the walls and ceiling around her in a large circle. Her eyes were wide and she span in a circle, trying to find a way out, her head swinging back and forth as she glanced wildly around. She shook her head, not believing this was happening to her. _What had she done?_

"DRACO!"

"HERMIONE!" she heard Draco shouting. "FUCK, I CAN'T GET TO HER!"

Everything was so loud and she could barely concentrate. Coughing and spluttering in the palm of her hand, she closed her eyes and tried to take a deep calming breath without inhaling smoke into her lungs. She moved both of her hands down by her sides, both of them shaking as she tried to pull the flames backwards and towards her with all of her inner strength. She let out a yell as she fought it with the magic, the fire trying to pull away and grow higher. The flames let out a roar as they pushed against her with a life of their own.

Draco fought alongside Harry to put out the wild flames, every normal spell they both tried failing. The blond hissed with pain as his arm was burnt in the process, leaving a painful and rather ugly red mark that he was sure would scar. He jumped in shock as the room around him began to shake, the walls, the floor, everything. The smoke was beginning to clear, the flames decreasing. That was when he spotted her, palms outstretched and eyes closed. She was muttering to herself, something he couldn't make out and he immediately let out a sigh of relief. She was standing up and seemed alright.

"Hermione!" he called out and moved towards her, growing increasingly worried when she did not respond. Her eyes remained tight shut and he could see her mouth was still moving. Her hands were shaking violently in front of her, her face twisting slightly. She seemed to be struggling. Harry was beside him in a second, looking equally as worried as he felt.

"Hermione?"

They were only a few feet away from her now and could see her more clearly. She had stopped speaking but she was still shaking, more violently than ever. It was like she was in a trance, rocking back and forth on her heels. She took in a deep breath and she closed her outstretched palms. The last of the flames reduced immediately and Draco watched in horror as the smoke clouded the brunette, seeping into her skin and inhaling the fumes. She opened her eyes and let out a cough, looking over at Harry and Draco.

"What... what happened?" she muttered slowly, blinking as if she had just awoke from a long sleep. "I-"

Hermione was not able to finished her next sentence as her eyes rolled back into her head and she dropped to the floor with a thud.

"SHIT!" Harry shouted as Draco immediately bolted towards her, dropping to his knees and cradling her head as tears filled his eyes. He refused to lose her, not now. "What the fuck is wrong with her, Malfoy?"

"Not now, Potter!" snapped Draco and he quickly summoned a revive potion from his private stores and tipped the potion down her throat carefully, praying it would work quickly. Taking her hand in his, his sat down on the floor beside her, running a hand through his hair. He felt completely out of control. He glanced up at Harry who was staring down at them both, his eyes trained on their interlaced fingers.

"You best have a seat, Potter." said Draco, motioning to the floor on the opposite side of Hermione. "This could take a little while to kick in."

Harry nodded and sunk to the floor, attempting to get comfortable. He bent his knees up and rested his arms against his kneecaps. He had felt completely useless back there with not knowing what was going on.

"Mind telling me what the bloody hell is going on, Malfoy?" asked Harry.

Draco shook his head.

"That would be too much for your tiny mind to understand, Potter." replied Draco and Harry narrowed his eyes at him. "Best leave it be for now."

* * *

Hermione groaned and blinked, her head feeling very fuzzy. As her eyes opened, a bright light made her wince. She let out a cough, the back of her throat scratchy and sore. Her mouth was dry and she felt awful, wanting nothing more than to stay as she was.

"Hey," she heard a soft voice say. "I think she's waking up."

She willed her eyes to work properly, knowing she recognized the voice.

"Hermione?" she felt a hand touch her arm and she tried to smile, knowing who this was.

After a few more seconds, she blinked and her eyes focused on two men leaning over her body, one blond and one with shaggy black hair.

"Thank fuck," said Draco and he leant down to capture her lips in a kiss, pulling away almost immediately when she stiffened in his grasp and began to cough, covering her mouth with her hand. He rubbed his thumb up and down against her cheekbone as she slowly began to breath again normally.

"You should probably try and sit up," said Harry in a quiet tone from beside her. She nodded slowly and Draco placed his hand against her back, helping her to sit up.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked her and she nodded her head once more, still silent.

"Hermione, say something."

She gulped, trying to form the words. Instead, a tear slid from her cheek.

"Oh, please don't cry." said Draco, his hands going back to her face. His eyes were soft, his voice soothing. Hermione slowly reached up and took his hands in hers, removing them from her face. She gave them a gentle squeeze and sighed.

"Draco," she began, her voice croaky. "I can't do this any more."

"What?" he said, his own voice so low that Harry who was frozen behind him struggled to hear.

"I- I don't want to do this any more. I'm so sorry." she said in response, tears falling from her face. Draco shook his head at her, tears threatening to fall from his own eyes. He knew what she meant and he didn't think he could take that. He couldn't lose her.

"Please don't do this," the blond begged her, his grey eyes pleading with her. "Hermione, I'm sorry-"

"Hermione, what's going on?" the sound of Harry's voice made her sit up straighter and she sniffed, forcing the tears away with the backs of her hands. She watched and felt her heart break as a single tear slipped down Draco's cheek and she had to force herself to look away.

"Harry-"

"Hey, come on." Harry stumbled rather unsteadily to his feet, holding out his hands for her to take. She sucked in a breath and took his hands in hers and he slowly eased her to her feet. "You're my best friend, Hermione and whatever you want me to do, I'll do it."

Hermione understood his words completely. Harry didn't know what was going on with her but his words implied that he would do anything he could to help her. She was grateful for him and for Draco. She glanced over at the blond who was still slumped on the floor, silent. She knew this was it. Enough was enough. She would damage more lives if she continued like this and it was something that she not willing to do, especially not to Harry, especially not to Draco.

"You don't have to say anything now," said Harry, the corner of his lips quirking upwards. "Just know, I'm hear for you when you're ready to talk."

With that, the dark haired man pulled his best friend in for a cuddle, breathing her in for the first time in years. He couldn't help the wide smile that spread across his face at this and as she squeezed him tightly. He honestly thought things were about to go back to normal. However, seconds later when she pulled away and he saw her sombre facial expression, his heart sank.

"Mione?"

She let out a shaky sigh.

"I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. _Not again._

"No.. No Hermione. Don't leave again." he begged her, his eyes wide with panic. "What is going on?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I have to go."

Draco scrambled to his feet at that.

"Hermione!" he shouted after the brunette who was now walking on shaking legs towards the door, only stopping to pick up her bag. "Please, don't go!"

She turned at the top of the stairs to glance back at the men who were rushing towards her. She gulped and smiled back at them both for a single second. Both of them meant so much to her and this was why she had to do this. She had to leave. She had to keep them safe and while she was around them, they wouldn't be. She also had to keep herself safe and while she was in the wizarding world, she wasn't. She was haunted by her past and she was terrified she would do the same thing again.

"Please.." Draco stopped at the bottom of the stairs, one hand on the railing as his wide grey eyes stared up at her, pleading with her not to open the door. Harry was directly behind him.

She shook her head at him as a tear fell and she bit at her bottom lip. "I'm sorry,"

With that, she turned and yanked the door open with a deep breath and the thundering sound of footsteps on the staircase followed her. She quickly hurried out of the door and as she turned to get one last look at both of the men behind her, the heavy door slammed shut with a great force. Her hair crackled and her fingertips tingled and that was when she realized that it was her doing. Tears began to fall uncontrollably then as the doorknob jiggled violently, her name being shouted. She could see sparks under the door and she knew they were trying to use magic to open the door. A few seconds later when they knew that wasn't working, they resorted to brute force once more, banging so hard that it made the door rattle. With a shaking breath, she turned and rushed away from the door, whispering one sentence into the empty corridor, almost masked by her sobs.

"I love you.."

She didn't bother to direct it at anyone, she loved them both in different ways. Her sobs grew louder as she rushed through the building, only releasing the spell on the door when she was far enough away not to be chased.

* * *

 **So it's the weekend and that means it update time! Leave a review and let me know your thoughts.  
Lots of stuff happening in this chapter and everything is not fully explained. I swear this story keeps getting longer. I'm currently writing chapter seventeen and I'm still no where near done! This story does not have a beta so any mistakes are my own (sorry)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Fourteen**

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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Hermione sat on her couch, legs tucked underneath her bum and a red blanket wrapped around her. It was early evening and she hadn't left the flat all day. Her eyes were glued to a muggle talent show on the television as she nibbled on a chocolate biscuit. Her head cocked to the side as she watched a twenty year old butcher a rendition of Abba's Dancing Queen and she winced when she hit a high note. Crookshanks was nestled against her legs, purring happily while she scratched his head with her spare hand. Before Draco, Crooks was her only link to her previous life in the wizarding world. He was ageing now but he still had a lot of life left in him and he was adored by both Hermione and Ashleigh. She paused mid-bite when a knock at the door made her turn her head. Before she could even move, a shout from the other room made her roll her eyes.

"I'll get it!"

Ashleigh stumbled from her bedroom with a loud clatter as she hopped on one foot, trying to put on her right shoe. After she turned her head to watch her friend hop towards the door, Hermione resumed her biscuit eating and glanced back at the television, watching as the Abba girl stomped off the stage in a strop, obviously she has been rejected by the judges. She snorted at that.

"You're early!" Hermione heard Ashleigh say with a giggle.

"Well, I couldn't wait to see you," Theo grinned and pecked her on the lips. Ashleigh finally managed to get her foot into her heel and stood up straight to give him a proper kiss. He dipped her backwards which elicited a squeal from the blonde woman. Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes.

When Theo pulled away from her best friend, he looked up and noticed her. The corner of his lip twitched up slightly into a small smile.

"Alright Granger?" he asked her and she nodded, not taking her eyes from the television. He sighed at this, lifting a hand to scratch at his head. He had seen Hermione several times this week and she looked more and more miserable with each passing day. He knew Draco was no different. His business partner was depressed, plain and simple. He had been moping around the office for days. There was no doubt about it. He missed her.

Hermione continued to stare at the television, cocking her head to the side when another singing hopeful wandered onto the stage with a wide smile. Footsteps echoed across the floor of the flat and Hermione jumped when she heard Theo speak from behind the sofa.

"Granger-"

"Don't." was all she said which caused him to let out a sigh.

"Granger, are you sure this is what you want?" he asked her and she remained quiet for a few moments, her eyes darting down to the ground. He didn't know what had happened between the two of them but he hated to see Draco miserable. He knew that Ashleigh was upset too. He had spent a lot of time with the pretty blonde this week and all she had talked about was how worried she was for her own best friend.

"I've made my decision, Theodore." said Hermione after a few moments of silence. She finally turned her head to look at him, her eyes darkening into a small glare. "Not that this is any of your business."

"Hermione!" Ashleigh gasped sharply from the kitchen, shocked at her best friends rudeness. "Don't take this out on Theo. He's only trying to help."

Hermione's eyes shifted to Ashleigh who was looking at her with a shocked expression. Her eyes immediately softened and she glanced back to Theo, ready to apologize but he spoke again before she could.

"It's okay," said Theo, knowing she was already sorry. She wasn't a naturally mean person. He had spent enough years in the same year at Hogwarts with her to know that she was bleeding heart with a lovely personality. "Granger, Draco's in bits."

Hermione felt her stomach lurch at his words. She knew he was telling the truth, which only made this harder. She knew Draco was upset, she would never forget the broken look on his face as he stared up at her on the staircase. The same night, he had spent an hour sitting outside of her door, begging her to let him in to talk. She didn't know how she had performed an anti-apparition charm without trying or noticing but Draco surely had. After trying to apparate into her flat several times, he had given up and she had heard him slump down the door outside. She had stayed on the sofa through it all, trying to stay strong but tears rolled down her cheeks. She was curled up in a ball, listening to the sound of his voice through the door. She knew that this was the best decision, just wanting to keep him safe and no matter how much it hurt to see him in pain like this, she had to be strong. She had to let him go. After a while, Hermione had heard Draco stand up and leave and several hours later, Ashleigh had come home to find her in the same position on the couch, still sobbing. The anti-apparition charm had dropped and he hadn't returned.

"It's for the best," she managed to choke out at Theo, swallowing the lump in her throat and forcing back tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She caught Ashleigh and Theo share a concerned look.

"Hermione," said Ashleigh as she walked over to the sofa where Hermione still sat. She walked around Theo and crouched down by her best friend's feet, looking her in the eyes. "I don't have to go out tonight. I can stay home and we can-"

"Don't be silly," sniffed Hermione with a small smile. "Go out and have fun. I'll be alright."

"Are you sure?" asked the blonde who took Hermione's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. The brunette smiled once more, squeezing back gently.

"Of course," she replied. "Go."

Ashleigh stood up, straightening out her clothes. She wandered back around to Theo and he placed his hand in hers, allowing her to lead him towards the door.

"We'll be home by ten, okay?" said Ashleigh and Hermione couldn't help but laugh, her housemate sounding like her mother.

"Have fun." Hermione responded, turning her attention back to the television.

Theo pulled to a stop before Ashleigh could drag him out of the door and turned back around to face Hermione.

"Hey Granger." he called out to her which caused her to glance back up at him.

"Yes?"

"I don't think you realize just how much you mean to him." said Theo and with a final curt nod to her, he followed her blonde best friend out of the front door, clicking it shut behind them.

Hermione let out a loud sigh at the sound of the door closing and she pulled herself up from the sofa and padding over to the door, turning the lock to make sure it was closed. She huffed and walked towards the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of red wine from the wine rack and quickly popped the cork. She picked up a wine glass, pouring herself a reasonably full glass and wandered back over to the sofa, picking up the television remote. After taking a sip of wine and allowing Crookshanks to get comfy again, she flicked through the channels, stopping when she came across re-runs of the weeks EastEnders. She was a sucker for her muggle soaps and so, she nestled down in the blanket and tucked Crookshanks against her gently who was scooting closer for a bit of fuss.

"Looks like it's just you and me again, Crooksy." she said with a small smile and her cat purred in agreement when she tickled behind his ear. She lifted her wine glass to her mouth and let out a small sigh, trying to think of anything else but Draco. She couldn't help it. Her mind tried to wander to him and she had to pull herself back and remember this was to keep him safe. He was safest when he was away from her and even though she knew it was for the best, her heart ached for him. She let out a shaky breath and took a sip from the glass. Her eyes followed the people on the television, currently involved in some sort of argument. She was so engrossed in the program that she missed the knocking on her door. She shifted in her seat and took another gulp of wine as Crookshanks meowed beside her. She glanced down at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Crooks?" said Hermione with a confused tone. The cat meowed again. "What's wrong?"

A loud crack sounded throughout the flat and Hermione let out a shriek, jumping in shock and the liquid in her glass sloshing around. She whipped around and spotted a figure behind her. The person was definitely a man based on his build as he stood with his back to her. She was about to let out a scream when she noticed his hair. A shade of bright blond.

She sighed in relief when she realized she was not in any danger.

 _Draco._

"Merlin, Draco!" she snapped, a hand going to her chest to feel her fast beating heart. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Draco span around at her words and his eyes widened at the sight of her, almost like he couldn't believe she was in front of him.

"What on earth are you doing here?" she said, standing up from the sofa and she placed her half empty wine glass on the coffee table in front of her. The blanket slipped to the floor and Crookshanks followed after it, sauntering across the room with a swish of his tail before jumping up and settling down on the windowsill. "More to the point, what do you think you are doing apparating in here? What if Ashleigh had been home!?"

"I knew she wasn't." said Draco simply, reached a hand up to scratch the back of his head.

"What?" she asked him, a confused expression filling her face. He was looking at her so innocently, she almost couldn't believe she was talking to Draco.

"I knew Theo was taking her out tonight. He mentioned it today in the office."

"So you couldn't have just knocked on the door?"

"I did. Not that it would have mattered."

"What?"

"Like you would have let me in." replied Draco, the corner of his mouth twitching up into a small smirk and she sighed, running a hand through her unruly curls, knowing that he was right. She wouldn't have let him in. He would have remained on the other side of the door, like the last time he showed up and she would have put up shields as her magic started to improve.

"Draco, why are you here?" she asked him, her eyes soft. It was killing her to see him here, knowing she had to tell him to leave again.

"Hermione," he said almost breathless as he moved around the sofa so that he was directly in front of her.

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"For once in your life, will you please just shut up."

With that, he reached forwards and took her face in his hands, planting a soft kiss against her lips and making her eyelids flutter closed. She let out a small moan as she felt herself melting into him for a moment, her arms snaking around his neck. One of his hands moved from her face to tangle in her hair, the other dropping down to grip at her waist tightly, pulling her impossibly close. His tongue swiped across her bottom lip and her eyes popped open, ripping away from him. She moved backwards quickly, almost slipping on the blanket that still lay on the floor, panting slightly as she tried to catch her breath.

"Draco, stop."

"Please don't leave me again," he whispered softly, his voice so quiet that Hermione had to strain to hear him. He cleared his throat and took a single step closer to her with his eyes still trained on her. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and sighed once more. "I know you feel betrayed-"

"What were you thinking?" she asked quietly, remembering why she had been so angry with him in the first place. _Harry._

"I-" Draco stopped and let out a growl, running a hand through his hair. "I wasn't thinking. I just- I just knew how much you missed him. You were constantly talking about him and I just didn't want you to be alone any more."

"I wasn't alone," she sighed. "I had you. I had my friends."

"But you didn't have Potter," he pointed out. "He's been at my office every day since-"

Draco paused, looking at her with wary eyes.

"You can say it, Draco." sighed Hermione. "Since my meltdown."

He cringed when she said it out loud. "He is desperate to see you. He wants to know what is going on."

"Did you tell him?" her eyes widened in fright and he shook his head immediately.

"Of course not!" Draco told her. "I meant what I said, Hermione. I wouldn't breathe a word to anyone. Your secret is safe with me."

She felt her shoulders relax at that but she still knew there was no going back. It wasn't safe for either of them. He shouldn't even be here right now.

"Draco-" she began but he cut her off.

"Hermione, please," he was begging now and his deep grey eyes were wide and pleading. She had never seen him like this before, so broken. The whites of his eyes were red and bloodshot and he looked like he hadn't had a decent nights sleep in ages. She felt like her heart had cracked in two just at the sight of him and it was all her fault. She was snapped from her thoughts as he began to speak again.

"Ever since you came back into my life, I've felt like a huge hole in my chest has been filled. I know it's only been three weeks but I know how I feel about you. You think what you're doing is for the best but I'm telling you, it isn't-"

"Draco, I almost hurt you!" she partially snapped at him. "I set your flaming building on fire for merlin's sake. I could have killed us both!"

"I don't care, Hermione!" he shouted making Hermione shrink back slightly in shock.

"What?"

"I don't _care_!" Draco's face was pale, more so than usual and a single purple vein was beginning to pop from his forehead. "You have know idea how hard this week has been for me without you-"

"I have some idea actually!" she snapped back, crossing her arms across her chest. "It hasn't been all sunshine and roses for me either, Draco but it _is_ for the best! You will be better off without me in your life!"

"Don't talk stupid!"

"Excuse me?"

"That is not your decision to make, Hermione. I don't want to live the rest of my life without you in it!" shouted Draco.

"Draco, you'll move on-"

"No, I won't." he said to her and she scoffed.

"Please," replied Hermione. "You need to let this go."

"You're not listening, Hermione!" he raised his voice higher, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose with his eyes screwed tightly shut. Hermione stood up straighter at this. "I can't just walk away from this!"

"Why not!?"

"Because I love you!" he blurted out loudly.

The silence was deafening as they stared at each other, Draco panting as he look at Hermione's wide brown eyes.

"What?" she managed to gasp out, her hands shaking and her heart pounding.

"I-" he stuttered, trying to find the words. Gulping back a lump in his throat, he coughed and spoke. "I- I said, I love you, you daft mare."

Upon hearing his words again, tears began to roll down Hermione's cheeks.

* * *

 **Here is your weekly update! What do you guys think? Leave a review and let me know your thoughts.**

 **I just also want to say a really big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed this story. We're not over yet and we've still got quite a few chapters to go but I'm so grateful for each and every one of you and I hope you're all still enjoying this story!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Fifteen**

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 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"What?" whispered Hermione, tears leaking from her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. She was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling quickly and she stared across at Draco who was strangely still considering what he had just blurted out.

"You heard what I said," murmured Draco, the tips of his ears turning pink.

Unable to stop herself, Hermione moved towards the blond, gripping him tightly as her lips crashed to his. This kiss was more passionate than the previous. It was more desperate, more needy. There was no rhythm, no routine to this kiss. It was raw, passionate and rushed. It was like they both knew that this was the last time, both craving one last touch, one last kiss. His hands wound in her hair as her teeth tugged on his bottom lip, pulling at his shirt. They clutched at each other for several minutes before Hermione pulled away, panting and lifting a hand to run through her wild curls in attempt to calm them. This didn't work as they had been made worse by Draco's own hands.

Hermione let out a sniff and swiped her fingers under her eyes to move any stray tears. It need not have mattered as more fell, her body jerking slightly and she sobbed.

"I love you too, Draco." said Hermione finally.

Draco felt like his heart grew three sizes then and there, beating wildly in his chest. He knew she was crying but a part of him hoped that they were happy tears. She loved him. That was a good thing, right? A smile crept onto his face, feeling like all of his problems were about to vanish. Until, he heard her next word.

"But-"

His stomach dropped as did his smile and he shook his head, blond hairs whipping around as he did. He didn't want to hear any more. He just wanted her to forget and move on. He wanted her to move on with him.

"No.. No," he said to her, still shaking his head. He took both of her hands in his, holding on tightly with his pleading grey eyes staring into hers. "No buts, Hermione."

"I'm sorry," replied Hermione, her sobs becoming more violent and her body shook with the force. "It's just too dangerous. _I'm_ too dangerous."

"We could make this work. The potion was destroyed but I'm rebrewing-"

She shook her head at him, reaching a single hand up to cup his cheek. She stared at him longingly for a second, her thumb stroking his face as she cried.

"I love you, Draco. More than I even thought was possible," cried Hermione, her words becoming slightly mumbled. "Which is why I have to let you go."

Draco began to cry at her words, struggling to form words through his choked sobs.

"Please.." he begged her. "Don't do this."

"I'm sorry," she bawled. "I have to say goodbye to you, Draco."

"Hermione, please-"

She let out a sigh, pressing her lips against his in one last swift kiss. She counted to three in her head before pulling away, knowing she couldn't trust herself to let go otherwise. Her hand ghosted his cheek in a soft touch and she bit her bottom lip as she stepped away.

"Have a good life, Draco. Be safe,"

"I'm not ready to let you go," he admitted to her, letting out a deep breath he had been holding. His eyes were red and puffy, the whites extremely bloodshot and his cheeks were tearstained.

"You'll move on from this and you'll meet the right person. The person who can give you everything. You'll find a person who will never hurt you," her vision was blurred by the tears in her eyes and she began to walk away from him and towards the door.

"What if you're the right person, Hermione? What if you're making a mistake?"

"My only mistake was falling in love with you, Draco." she told him, immediately regretting her choice of words when she glanced back at him and saw his crestfallen face. He looked so betrayed. "I can't give you what you want or what you need. You deserve so much better than me and I never should have fallen for you, knowing that I would have to walk away. It wasn't fair to you-"

"Hermione-"

"Goodbye Draco," she cut him off and nudged him softly out of the door, closing it before he could say another word. She fumbled with the key in the lock, twisting it quickly to lock the door.

"HERMIONE!" he shouted through the door at her, his fists beating against the wood softly. He was not violent and it was not enough to cause any damage. He was defeated, she could hear it in his voice.

Not wanting to hear his broken voice calling her name, she attempted to throw up a silencing charm and wards, hoping that she was strong enough and that her magic would cooperate. Her entire body burned as she tried to concentrate on the magic coursing through her veins. She gritted her teeth, trying to push past the block she could feel while praying she wouldn't set the house ablaze. When he didn't immediately appear back in her living room again, she assumed it had worked.

Hermione took several small steps in front of her, wandering across the room before she collapsed in a heap on the sofa, breaking down into floods of tears.

That was where Ashleigh had found her later that evening, curled up in a ball on the sofa still sobbing softly. Draco was clearly long gone as he had not burst in the minute Ashleigh opened the door. The blonde woman placed her keys on the kitchen counter along with her purse and with soft eyes, she slowly walked over to the sofa where Hermione lay.

Hermione glanced up when she saw her and Ashleigh could see how truly devastated she looked.

"What happened?" she asked her slowly.

Hermione remained silent which made Ashleigh sigh.

"Hermione, I can't help if you won't talk to me." she said to her. When her friend still did not say anything, she let out a huff and motioned for her to move over. "Come on, budge up."

The brunette scooted to the side slightly and Ashleigh kicked off her high heels before she dropped onto the sofa, joining Hermione under the blanket and feeling happy for the warmth it provided. It was freezing outside after all and she and Theo had been for a romantic walk in the park for the past hour.

"I'm your best friend, Hermione. You can tell me anything." Ashleigh told her. "You do know that, right?"

Hermione let out a sigh and shifted slightly to lean her head on the blonde's shoulder. She sniffled, trying to stop the tears from falling. They had slowed down but they had not stopped completely.

Ashleigh placed a gentle hand on Hermione's head, stroking gently in a calming manner. After a few moments, Hermione gulped and managed to utter a few words.

"I loved him, Ash."

"Oh sweetheart," said Ashleigh softly, her thumb reached down to wipe away the brunette's tears. "You and Draco?"

Hermione offered only a small nod and a single tear slipped down her cheek, soaking Ashleigh's thumb on the way past.

"Mione, what happened between you two?"

"We're not right for each other," she croaked out, not wanting to say much more.

"That's not what Theo says," said Ashleigh and Hermione's head snapped up to look at her.

"What?"

"Theo said that you two were perfect for each other, almost too perfect. He said he has never seen Draco happier."

Ashleigh moved her hand to tuck a stray brown curl behind Hermione's ear.

"Theo Nott doesn't know anything about us," grumbled Hermione. Her blonde best friend let out a small sigh at her words.

"Look at me, Hermione." said Ashleigh. "I might not know Draco very well but I know you. I also know Theo and I trust his judgement. He has known you both a long time, am I right?"

"I guess." Hermione couldn't argue that Theo Nott had spent years at Hogwarts around both her and Draco, even if she wasn't friends with him herself. They shared classes and whenever she would bump into Draco in the halls, he would always be right there.

"He said that Draco used to pick on you in school."

Hermione snorted with a small nod. "He was a stuck-up little prick back then who thought he was better than everyone else."

"Well, Theo reckons he only used to pick on you because he fancied you."

"Now I know that's not true," replied Hermione. "He used to pick on my friends back then too and somehow I doubt he had a crush on either of the boys."

"Hey, I'm just repeating what Theo said," laughed Ashleigh, leaning back and holding her hand up mock surrender. "To cut this short, the point I was trying to make was that maybe you're not meant to be or maybe you are but how will you know if you don't try a little harder?"

Hermione shook her head.

"I can't," she told her friend finally. "It's best if Draco and I just leave each other well alone."

"Did he hurt you?" asked Ashleigh and the brunette shook her head. "Did he cheat?"

"No." sniffed Hemione.

"Well then, are you sure that walking away is the right thing to do?" Ashleigh added and Hermione nodded her head. With a sigh, Ashleigh spoke once more. "If you love him, isn't it worth another chance?"

Hermione choked back a sob at that and Ashleigh felt incredibly guilty at the look on her face. Instead of saying any more, she simply held open her arms and motioned for her best friend to move closer. The brunette fell forwards into her arms and Ashleigh hugged her tightly, allowing her cry. Placing her chin on top of Hermione's head, she listened to her sobbing and couldn't stop herself from thinking about how she could help her. The cogs turned in her brain but she couldn't think of anything. She knew Theo was an easy access point to Draco but she also knew Hermione would never go for it. She wasn't stupid and she was very stubborn. Once she made her mind up about something, there was no changing it. She clearly thought she was better off out of Draco's life. The blonde let out a loud sigh and she stroked Hermione's shoulder trying to soothe her.

She would fix this. She would do it for her friend. She just didn't know how. She didn't care how long it would take but she would figure it out. She would do this for Hermione.

"Ssh Hermione," she whispered softly. "It'll be alright."

* * *

Hermione pulled her coat tighter around her body and crossed the road in front of the office she worked in. She was desperate to get home after a particularly awful day at work and she didn't want to have to walk. She lived quite far away and walking in heels was never any fun but she would take the long walk home over spending another minute in the same office as her boss. Kevin Clifton was by far the worst part of her job. He made lecherous comments to all of the female staff in the office and would press himself against them when they wandered over to the copy machine. Hermione worked for a muggle newspaper and she wasn't exactly in love with her job. However, _he_ was the biggest part of that reason. She hated him from the minute she had met him. He made her feel sick. Hermione had started as an office junior originally, bringing him coffees and filing his paperwork. He had gotten way too comfortable and he was known for smacking his secretary's arse. Hermione only narrowly avoided it when she worked that close to him. After a few months, she was offered a promotion to Copy Editor which she snapped up just to put some distance between them. As Editor-in-Chief of the paper, he was still a major part of her day but at least she wasn't forced into his office with him. Every day without question he would offer her a lift home with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a wink. He was a creep, plain and simple and she hated working for him. But, a job was a job and she had a few other women her age working with her so she was never alone with him in the office and she didn't ever plan on taking him up on his offer. The walk was rough but it was better than the alternative.

Glancing around, she could see that the streets were full of people who were rushing towards the taxi rank at the top of the street. Hermione usually walked as the taxi rank meant large queues to actually get a cab at this time of day when all the offices were at kicking out time. Tonight however as the sky was starting to darken, she stopped in her tracks and turned as she spent a few seconds mulling it over. She let out a sigh and began to walk to the top of the street. Yes, it would mean waiting for a while but at least she could rest her feet when inside the cab. Plus, it was bloody freezing outside. November had finally rolled around and the colder weather was officially here. The season of winter in England was by far her least favourite and as she hurried up the street, she could feel cold droplets of rain bouncing off her fluffy hood that covered her head. She shivered and quickened her pace, stopping when she found herself at the end of the queue for the taxis.

Hermione was busy watching a taxi pull away with a new customer inside when she heard the light pop tune singing out of her phone in her bag. She reached down to fish it out and smiled when she saw the name flash on her screen. _Ashleigh._

Quickly clicking the right button, she held the phone to her ear and was glad to hear her best friends voice.

"How do you fancy a night out tonight?"

"Hello Hermione," said Hermione through the phone with a joking tone to her voice. "How was your day at work?"

She heard Ashleigh laugh through the phone.

"Sorry, how was your day, Mione?" asked Ashleigh.

"Rubbish as always. Now, what were you saying?"

"Do you fancy going out tonight? It is Friday night after all and I don't want you cooped up at home any more."

"By going out you mean?"

"A nice meal and maybe a couple of cocktails. Nothing wild, I promise."

"Since when did your promises mean anything when it comes to a night out?" laughed Hermione. "It's always wild with you and you know it, Ash."

A small giggle filled her ears through the phone and the brunette rolled her eyes lightly.

"But it's always good fun and _you_ know it."

"I don't think I should-"

"Oh come on, Mione," said Ashleigh. "You need to move on and besides, it only a meal and a few drinks with the girls."

The brunette thought for a moment before letting a sigh, shivering slightly as the rain began to fall heavier.

"Fine," she finally agreed. "What harm could it do?"

"Exactly," agreed Ashleigh. "So, where are you?"

"Just waiting to get a taxi home," said Hermione as she moved a couple of steps again. "I'm almost in one actually so I'd better go but I'll be home soon, okay?"

"I'll meet you there."

The phone clicked off and Hermione shoved it back in her pocket watching as several more taxis pulled out of the parking spaces to make way for new ones. Hopefully tonight would help her heal. Hopefully it would help her get her mind off of Draco, Somehow though, she completely disagreed with that fact. She knew that there was no letting go. Draco Malfoy had sucked her in and she didn't know how she was going to get over him.

* * *

 **Thoughts? Leave a review and let me know what you think!  
Once again, that you all for all of the favourites, alerts and reviews on this story. It really does mean the world to me. **

**I was looking in my writing journal this morning and I have officially got six Dramione multi-chapter stories planned out ready to write and one Dramione onshot. I'm dying to get started but I'm determined to finish this story first. If you do love Dramione and would like to read more when they are posted, feel free to Author alert me so that you can read them when they are available :)**

 **Have a great week guys! See you for a new update next weekend!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Sixteen**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

Hermione swept the tip of a baby pink lipstick across her lips as she finished getting ready for the evening. She knew Ashleigh had been right to suggest this and she had missed her friends. After spending the best part of a week moping around after her break up from Draco, she felt like it was time she started to go back to normality. Plus, if Ashleigh was willing to tear herself away from Theo for the night then she felt like she owed it to her friend to go with her. She ran a hand through her hair which she had straightened within an inch of its life and she let out a small sigh, satisfied that it looked half decent even though she had spent half the time on it that she usually would. She had arrived home after Ashleigh and had hopped straight in the shower to feel fresher after a day in the office and had quickly managed to get ready. She had pulled on a pair of black skintight jeans and a black blouse with long sleeves with a deep V down the middle showing the tip of her black lace bra and when she looked at herself in the mirror, she cocked her head to the side as she smoothed out her top trying to determine if she looked okay. With a shake of her head, she turned away from the full length mirror. _She looked fine she supposed._ In fact, she didn't care any more. If she didn't leave now, she never would. Grabbing a black clutch bag and a pair of chunky black heels from her closet, she stumbled out into the living room where Ashleigh was waiting for her on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other.

"About time," joked the blonde with a smirk.

Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes, thinking that her best friend was spending too much time with Theo. That smirk on her face was a Slytherin smirk through and through. Ashleigh stood up, swiping a few strands of blonde curls out of her face and Hermione smiled at her.

"You look great, Ash."

"You think?" laughed Ashleigh, giving her best friend a twirl. Attempting would be a more appropriate word as her twirl was made far more difficult due to the tight skirt she was wearing. Dressed up to the occasion as always, Ashleigh was wearing a white lace top with thin straps which pushed her breasts up at the front and it was tucked into a nude coloured skirt which clung to the blonde's legs. A pair of very expensive nude high heels with a strip of sliver studs on a strap down the front of her foot were settled on her feet, her toes perfectly manicured and painted.

"Yeah. You look stunning as always," replied Hermione with a genuine nod. Hermione had been friends with Ashleigh for years and she still envied how beautiful and carefree she was. "Theo's missing out tonight,"

Ashleigh stopped dead and turned to face the brunette who was slipping her black heels on to her feet. She grinned at Hermione and offered her a cheeky wink.

"Screw Theo. You're my date tonight, beautiful."

Ashleigh wandered towards her pushing her boobs up higher in her top and giving them a flirty jiggle.

"And if you play your cards right, you might get to see the girls." she told Hermione with a second wink.

Another jiggle and both women burst into laughter with Hermione rolling her eyes at Ashleigh.

"Oh sod off you." laughed Hermione. "Is the taxi outside?"

"Yeah," replied Ashleigh, fluffing at her blonde curls with her hand. "Are you ready?"

"I guess," said Hermione with a shrug of her shoulders. Now that she was dressed and ready to go, Hermione couldn't help but have second thoughts. Hearing the change in her tone of voice, Ashleigh quickly tried to snap her out of it.

"No, none of that mopey stuff tonight!" the blonde told her. "Tonight is about fun and we're going to have lots of it. You look bloody gorgeous and it would be a waste to stay at home now."

Hermione's eyes flickered up to look at Ashleigh who was standing with her hands on her hips with a no-nonsense expression on her face. She let out a small sigh and nodded her head quickly.

"Come on then," the brunette stepped closer to her companion for the evening, linking arms and started to take slow steps towards the door. "Where are we headed for dinner?"

"Your favourite," grinned Ashleigh, knowing the answer before she even asked her next question. "How do you feel about Italian?"

* * *

Hermione gasped as she was swept up in a hug, being squeezed rather hard by a woman who was smaller than she was. She heard Ashleigh snort from behind her and she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at her blonde best friend.

"Becks," she finally managed to gasp out at the petite brunette who was squeezing her tightly. "Release!"

"Ooh, sorry!" Rebecca giggled pulling away with a wide grin of her face. "It's been ages since we've hung out and I've just missed you, Mione."

"I can see that!" laughed Hermione, smoothing out her clothes which had crinkled slightly. "How are you?"

"I'm great!" said Rebecca, still smiling at Hermione. She was the youngest of the group, although not by much and she was known to be rather excitable when she wanted to be. "You look fantastic!"

"Doesn't she just," said Ashleigh before she could respond. "Come on you two, the others are already inside."

Hermione glanced over to Ashleigh who was pointing inside the restaurant at a table which they could see through the window. Three happy looking woman were staring back at them, waving their hands wildly.

"Fine by me," she heard Rebecca mutter, a grin still on her face as she rubbed at her arms. "It's bloody freezing out here."

* * *

Dinner turned out to be at Hermione's favourite Italian restaurant. Ashleigh had been introduced to the lovely little restaurant back when she and Hermione had first met. They had been having dinner here twice a month from the start of their friendship, always ordering the same food. It was their own tradition, one that had caught on with their others friends and because of this, Hermione had so many memories at Ti Amo's. Her mind whirred as she recalled them, her brain selecting both happy times and sad times. She remembered Holly's announcement that she was pregnant. She remembered cradling her friend in a booth near the back of the restaurant when Holly told her about her miscarriage. She remembered listening and offering advise when she told her of her relationship breaking down. She remembered hearing about Zoe's engagement, as short lived as it was. Rebecca's promotion in work, Danielle's marathon training journey. She remembered it all. She had got to share the rises and falls of her friends lives, most that were told to her over the tables in Ti Amo's. Most of all, she remembered Ashleigh. Her best friend's journey had not been an easy one. She had been in an abusive relationship for a year with a man who was cruel to her. He was jealous, manipulative and aggressive. Hours and hours had been spent at the tables, just to get her out of the house she had shared with him, trying to keep her as far away from him as possible. It was only when he had pushed her down a flight of stairs and he was arrested that she managed to convince her to leave him.

However, now that she was sitting in the booth surrounded by her closest friends and staring at the menu that had been placed in front of her by the waitress, she couldn't help but think of _him._ Her mind couldn't move from the Italian takeaway she had taken to his office. The food had come from here after all. Of course it had. Of all of the memories this place held for her, such a simple one as a bag of takeaway pasta was the most memorable. She shook her head once she noticed she had zoned out in a little world of her own, her mind completely on Draco.

"Hermione?"

At the sound of her name, her head snapped up and she looked across the table to see Zoe staring at her. She smiled sheepishly, her face flushing a bright red.

"Sorry Zo, were you saying something?"

The blonde cocked her head to one side and let out a short breath, staring back at her.

"Hermione, are you alright?"

"Of course," replied Hermione with a nod. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I've been talking away for the past five minutes and you looked like you were in your own little world." said Zoe. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Positive, " said Hermione with a nod of her head. "Is everyone just waiting on me to order or?"

Catching wind of their conversation, Ashleigh let out a small laugh which drew the attention of the rest of the table.

"Like you don't already know what you want, Mione." said Ashleigh with a wide grin, flicking her hair back. "You've been ordering the same dish from this place since we started coming here."  
"I don't think I fancy bolognese tonight actually," Hermione told her and she began to flick through the menu, her face still red as images of Draco pinning her to his desk whirled inside her brain.

"Ready to order?" asked the waitress, who had suddenly appeared by the side of the table with a wide smile and a notepad in hand. She assumed the girls must have nodded as the young woman clicked her pen and spoke again. "Alright, my name is Tiffany and I'll be your server tonight. Shall we start with you, miss?"

Hermione glanced up when she realized the waitress was talking to her, being on the end of the booth.

"Sure,"

"Drink first?" asked Tiffany and she nodded her head slowly.

"A glass of house red, please."

"Perfect," grinned the young waitress, scribbling on her notepad. "And to eat?"

With a final glance down, she closed the menu and allowed her gaze to move up once more.

"I'll have the lasagne please."

"Great!" said Tiffany before she moved to Danielle who she was sitting beside Hermione in the booth.

Hermione tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and let out a sigh, leaning backwards against the seat. She was too busy looking down at the table, she missed the concerned look on her best friend's face.

* * *

"Will you stop it," said Hermione with a sigh as she leaned around Danielle to look at Ashleigh. "It's only a meal!"

The waitress had quickly left once she had taken the rest of their order before bringing back the round of drinks on a black tray. Hermione had only taken a single sip from her wine glass when Ashleigh had rounded on her, demanding to know what was wrong because she hadn't ordered her usual meal.

"It's not just a meal and you know it!" snapped Ashleigh. "We've been coming here for years and you have never had anything other than that damn bolognese!"

"It's just a meal, Ash!"

"It's not! Something is wrong with you."

"Maybe I just decided it was time to try something else from the menu."

"Don't lie to me, Hermione." she said, her eyes soft. "I know you, remember? I know you better than you know yourself sometimes. This is not just about you-know-who, is it?"

Hermione cringed inwardly at Ashleigh's word choice. She knew she meant Draco, but she couldn't hear those words without automatically thinking of the obvious.

"Guys, come on." Holly said, interrupting the pair of them. "Ash, leave Hermione alone. If she doesn't want to talk then as her friend, you should respect that."

"But-"

"Nope, no buts." Holly told her with a shake of her head. She picked up her glass of white wine and took a long gulp with the entire group staring at her. When she placed the glass back down on the table, she sat up straighter and smiled. "Now, why don't we change the subject, hmm?"

Ashleigh let out a huff, pouting slightly as she shifted in her seat before muttering sarcastically."Yes, _Mum."_

Holly rolled her eyes back at her blonde friend before turning to a new conversation topic.

"Becks," she began, turning to face the brunette beside her. "How are things with your new man?"

Rebecca grinned and began to talk about her date the previous weekend.

"Chicken Arrabbiata and then Lasagne for you, right?"

Hermione looked up just as the waitress was placing the last two plates in front of Danielle and herself, nodding politely when the plate of food was settled on the table.

"Can I get you anything else?" her eyes glanced around at the table and all six ladies shook their heads. "Perfect. Well, enjoy ladies!"

With that, the waitress flounced off to her next table and chatter resumed at the table.

Hermione picked up her knife and fork and listened intently to the conversation at the table without contributing. She cut a piece of pasta from the large slab on her plate and popped it into her mouth, a warming sensation tingling on her tongue. She could hear that talk had turned to Ashleigh's relationship with Theo and she chewed silently as Ashleigh gushed about him with a wide grin spread across her face. Her friend constantly glanced around at her, almost making sure she was alright hearing about her happy relationship. Hermione simple smiled back at her best friend, with a polite nod. She placed her knife down to rest on her plate, the noise around her becoming fuzzy as she zoned out. No longer paying attention to the talking at the table, she allowed her eyes to drift across the restaurant as she popped another piece of lasagne in her mouth, pulling it off the fork with her teeth. She had just finished swallowing the pasta when the front door of the restaurant opened and in stepped a man with bright blond hair, running a hand through it in an attempt to flatten the windswept strands. She let out a audible gasp and the fork fell from her shaking hand and landed on the plate below with a loud clatter, miraculously not smashing the white china. At the noise, the entire restaurant turned in the direction of her table to see what was going on, including the man at the door.

Hermione gulped as he caught sight of her and she couldn't believe her terrible luck. _Of all of the bloody places.._

"Hermione?" she heard Holly say and the brunette's eyes scanned around the table to see all of her friends staring at her with concerned expressions. Her eyes shot back across the room to him. He was still standing by the door, his own grey eyes trained on her.

"Is everything okay?" Holly asked her.

She felt like a deer in a set of headlights, frozen to her seat. _What was he doing here?_

"Oh shit," she heard from behind her and she realized that it was Ashleigh who had said that. "Hermione-"

She couldn't take it any more. She scrambled out of the booth, rushing passed tables filled with confused diners and towards the door.

"HERMIONE!" Ashleigh shouted from behind her and she turned her head slightly to watch Ashleigh practically climb across Danielle to get out of the booth after her. "HERMIONE, WAIT!"

Hermione felt like all of the air in her body had been knocked out of her. As she neared him, desperate to get out of the door that was taunting her right behind him, his eyes softened and his jaw slackened.

"Hermione, what are you-"

She cut him off as she roughly barged past him, her shoulder bumping with his as she almost matched his height in her high heels.

"Leave me alone, Draco." she muttered, finally reaching the door. She grabbed the door handle and yanked it open, the freezing breeze hitting her like she had dumped in an ice bath. She gasped and came to a sharp stop when she found her path blocked by another smirking Slytherin.

"Evening Granger," said Theo, his flat palms resting on either side of the door frame with arms outstretched as he blocked her exit. His smirk spread into a wide grin and he couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the shocked look on her face.

* * *

 **I am so unbelievably sorry that this hasn't had an update since November! I've been dealing with quite a lot over the past couple of months including heath issues so I haven't really found time or had the energy to write or post things. I'm feeling much more myself now and I am ready to get this finished and posted so I can start writing the next Dramione in my writing journal. I'm currently working on Chapter 20 and i anticipate this to have no more than 22/23 chapters so we are really nearing the end! Please excuse any mistakes. It's quite late where I live so I've not really looked over this chapter very much! Please let me know your thoughts on this by leaving a review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Seventeen.**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the smirking Slytherin who was standing in front of her.

"Get out of my way, Nott."

"Not very friendly tonight, are we Granger?" Theo chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I won't tell you again," she warned, pressing a hand against his chest and giving him a rough shove. He rocked slightly but his feet did not move which only made him smirk wider.

"What will you do, lioness?" he practically purred at her and she rolled her eyes at him. Even with a girlfriend, he just couldn't help himself. She simply scoffed at him, crossing her arms over her chest and raising a single eyebrow.

"Enough Theo," she heard Draco snap at his friend from behind her. She turned slightly to look at him and she felt her chest go tight at the sight of him. He looked positively murderous, glaring at Theo. "Let her through."

"Drake-"

"Let. Her. Through." Draco hissed at him through gritted teeth. Theo huffed at him and rolled his eyes.

"I see you're going to be no fun this evening," said Theo with a dramatic sigh.

"Fuck off, Theo." growled Draco as Hermione pushed past the Slytherin in her path, almost tripping in her heels as she stepped out into the freezing night.

"Hermione!" she heard a female voice calling behind her as she powered through, walking down the street and away from the restaurant. _Ashleigh._ "Hermione, wait!"

The brunette whirled around on the spot, glaring at her best friend who had skidded to a stop behind her. Glancing over the top of the blonde's head, she could see Draco and Theo advancing on them both.

"What the hell are you playing at?" Hermione hissed at Ashleigh who looked shocked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't tell me this is a coincidence." snapped Hermione. "You told Theo we would be here, didn't you?"

"No!" Ashleigh shouted back at her. "Of course not!"

"Don't lie to me, Ash!"

"I'm not!" yelled Ashleigh taking several steps closer to the brunette. "Hermione, this wasn't some kind of a plan. I just wanted to take you out."

"Granger, she's telling you the truth," she heard Theo say, coming up behind his girlfriend to wrap an arm around her shoulder. "Ash brought me here on a date and I enjoyed the food. Draco had been moping so I thought getting him out would be good. We were here to grab some food to take back to the office."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" She glanced between Ashleigh and Theo with a sour expression on her face. She didn't care what they both said. This had Ashleigh's meddling all over it.

The blonde's face was soft, her eyes pleading with Hermione.

"Hermione, I didn't know you would be here tonight." a husky voice said and her breath caught in her throat as she moved slightly allowing Draco to appear in her line of vision. Her heart pounded in her chest and for a second, she actually thought it would burst right out of her with how fast it was beating. She took in a shaky breath and crossed her arms across her body.

"Draco-"

"Listen, I can't speak for Theo but I definitely didn't know you'd be here. Don't let this ruin your night, Hermione."

"What?"

"I'll leave," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smile. "Don't let me ruin your night."

Hermione couldn't help but think that perhaps he hadn't ruined her night at all. Just looking at him now, she felt her heart flutter. She wanted to just grab him and kiss him and...

"No," she told him with a shake of her head, finally finding her voice once more. "Go with Theo. I'm going home."

"Hermione, you can't-" she heard Ashleigh say and her eyes snapped across to her friend. She gripped her clutch bag tighter in her hand at the sad expression on the blonde's face. She let out a loud sigh.

"Ash, go back inside. Tell the girls that I'm sorry."

"Hermione, please don't go." begged Ashleigh. "The girls are all waiting inside for you. They're worried."

Hermione shook her head once more, her eyes flicking to Draco who was staring back at her, his deep grey eyes focused completely on her. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks and she turned her attention back to Ashleigh.

"I'll see you back at home," she told her, opening her purse to fish out some money. Once she was satisfied with the amount, she handing it over to Ashleigh.

"What's this?" asked Ashleigh.

"My part of the bill," replied Hermione, zipping up her purse once more. "Now, go and have fun with the girls."

With that, she turned on her heels to walk away from the three people who were staring after her.

"Hermione!"

The brunette turned her head back to her best friend as she continued to walk.

"Go have fun, Ash!" she called back. "I'll be fine."

When she turned around, she grinned when she spotted a black taxi driving down the street towards them, the yellow taxi sign illuminated to signal that they were accepting fares. She stopped by the edge of the kerb and the taxi began to slow down. She let out a small sigh when she heard footsteps behind her. Spinning around, she was shocked to see Draco slowing down into a walk. She had expected it to be Ashleigh chasing after her once more.

"What do you want, Draco?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow, sticking out her hand to try and stop the taxi that was slowly driving down the dark street..

"Can I walk you home?" asked Draco, holding out his arm for her. She gulped down a breath that caught in her throat when he swiped away loose strands of blonde hair from his face and she tried not to bite at her lip. She shook her head and cleared her throat before speaking.

"I don't think that is such a good idea," replied Hermione as the taxi rolled to a stop beside the kerb, the driver rolling down the passenger side window.

"Need a taxi?" he asked and she nodded her head.

"Yes please."

She stepped forward and pulled open the back door, looking at the driver who had turned in his seat.

"Where to love?" queried the taxi driver who looked in his mid fifties with stubble around his mouth. He had a kind smile and she placed her hand on top of the door to keep herself upright.

"Richmond Street?"

"Sure, hop in love. Is it for two of you?" he asked, motioning to Draco who stood behind her. She turned her head to look at the man who made her heart want to burst from her chest and saw his mouth curve slightly into a smile. Her stomach was in knots and she shook her head.

"No," she told the taxi driver, her eyes never leaving Draco's. "Just me please."

"Not a problem. Whenever you're ready then." he told her.

Hermione couldn't tear her eyes away from him. His perfect face, his piercing grey eyes, that bright blond hair that was expertly tousled. He was a vision and she couldn't look away. His voice cut through her thoughts like a knife a few seconds later.

"I love you, Hermione." said Draco, his eyes soft and almost pleading and her own eyes widened further. A warm feeling engulfed her, hearing it for the second time giving her the same fuzzy feeling through out her body. She bit her bottom lip between her teeth and gripped the door of the taxi tighter. "Have a safe journey home."

Without any other words, he leant forwards slightly and placed a gentle kiss against her cheek. She bit her lip even harder at that, so hard that she thought she might draw blood. Her knuckles were white against the metal car door and she knew then she was in trouble. She watched entranced as he moved backwards, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. She let out a long and deep breath through her nose in an attempt to control her breathing and her erratic heartbeats. She had to do something, a _nything_ to stop her from jumping on him. She couldn't deny it. She wanted him. She wanted him so badly. She just knew she couldn't have him. Not any more.

"Goodnight Draco." she managed to say and with one last look, she ducked into the taxi and closed the door behind her. As the taxi drove off, she couldn't stop herself from looking back at him standing there on the kerb. When they were far enough out of sight, she leant her head back against the headrest and listened to the driver talk about how busy his night had been, her mind well and truly focused on one thing. _Draco Malfoy._

* * *

Hermione wandered into the kitchen the following morning, running a hand through her messy curls. She let out a yawn and filled the kettle with water, flicking it on to boil. Pulling her favourite mug off the shelf, she dropped a teabag inside and almost jumped out of her skin as Crookshanks jumped up onto the counter beside her.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she smiled at him before reaching forwards to scratch her fluffy orange cat on the top of his head. He purred and pressed his head into her hand making her laugh. "You silly old thing."

"Talking to Crooks again, Mione?" she heard Ashleigh's voice and she glanced up to see her best friend had appeared and was leaning against the counter, covered by a fluffy pink dressing gown. Her smile dropped off her face and she immediately dropped her hand and turned away from the blonde. Crookshanks meowed, upset that she had stopped scratching him.

"Don't worry, Crooks." said Ashleigh. "It's not you, it's me."

"Tea?" Hermione managed to croak out, still looking away from Ashleigh.

"Please." replied Ashleigh, taking a seat on one of the stools they had set out by the breakfast bar in the kitchen. "Are you mad at me?"

"What gave you that idea?" asked Hermione nonchalantly as she lifted another mug off the shelf.

Ashleigh was silent for a second before she let out a snort.

"Maybe the fact that you've just given me the shittiest mug that we own instead of my usual one."

Hermione's eyes lifted to stare straight ahead and she smirked slightly, knowing that Ashleigh was right. The mug she had picked was Hermione's oldest mug and had several chips. The only reason she still had it was because she had been given the mug as a present from Harry when she had gotten her job at the Ministry, along with several other pieces of stationary for her office.

"You deserve it," said Hermione gritting her teeth together before picking up the kettle to pour the boiling water into the two mugs, watching as the teabags floated to the top.

"Hermione, I didn't tell Theo we would be there last night. You have to believe me."

"I don't." replied Hermione simply, still not turning to look at her friend. She walked a few steps to the fridge, pulling the door open and grabbed the milk. Crookshanks meowed loudly once again, still sitting on the counter near the mugs.

"Hermione-"

"I don't really want to talk about it, Ash." snapped Hermione, fishing the teabags out of the mugs with a spoon and popping them in the bin.

"But-"

"So shall we just leave it, yeah?"

"You're my best friend," said Ashleigh with a sad smile, watching Hermione add a splash of milk to each mug. "I'll never give up."

Hermione stirred a little sugar in each before putting the milk away. She turned to her friend, placing her mug down in front of her on the counter, which Ashleigh immediately placed both of her hands around to warm them. Hermione's eyes moved to look at Ashleigh with a completely straight face.

"You might need to this time, Ash." she said, picking up her own mug and walking away. "Come on Crooks."

With a dull thud, Crookshanks jumped off the counter and trotted after his owner. Hermione wandered towards her bedroom, closing the door behind her once she was sure that Crookshanks was inside with her.

Ashleigh let out a huff and took a sip of her tea, staring at the door in which her best friend had stepped through. She had thought she was doing the right thing. Of course she had told Theo they would be there and it had backfired spectacularly. She hadn't expected Hermione to react like that and Theo had been early. She was hoping to allow Hermione a few glasses of wine before they had come in. She didn't know how she was going to fix this, not this time.

* * *

They hadn't spoken for a week, her and Ashleigh. It was becoming harder and harder to live in the same flat with her outspoken and bubbly room-mate and not speak to her. Hermione knew that she was holding a grudge that she shouldn't be but she felt so betrayed, even if Ash was constantly telling her that it wasn't her fault.

For a week, Hermione had got dressed and left for work before Ashleigh even woke, spending time in the Starbucks down the street for an hour with her laptop before heading into work for the full day. She would walk home in the cold, ignoring the numerous text messages she had received from her best friend, grab take-out food for her dinner and eat it in her room. They had barely crossed paths but when they did, Hermione was finding it harder and harder to stay mad at the blonde who was trying so hard to get back to normal.

By the time Saturday night rolled around, Hermione's walls that she had built up were starting to crack. She had ordered Chinese food was sitting on the floor by her coffee table, a bottle of red wine and a glass perched on top. Crookshanks was curled up in a little ball on the sofa behind her and the television was mostly background noise. Ashleigh had left around an hour ago, off out on a date with Theo leaving Hermione with the flat to herself. She was starting to feel lonely if she was honest, not that she would ever admit it. Her phone was full of messages from her friends, all of them asking her to join them for drinks and movie nights but she couldn't bring herself to do it. It didn't feel right while she and Ash weren't speaking.

A knock on her door made her look up and she smiled to herself when she remembered she had ordered food. Pulling herself off the floor, she wandered over to the door, her feet covered by slippers and she peeked through the peephole. Satisfied when she saw it was a delivery driver holding a white bag, she pulled open the door and smiled.

"Order for Granger?" the man asked her, holding up the bag of food.

"That's me," replied Hermione, taking the bag from him and handing him over some cash. "Thank you."

"No problem. Have a good night,"

Hermione pushed the door shut behind her and wandered to the kitchen, pulling out a bowl and some cutlery. She filled the bowl with chicken chow mein and grabbed a fork before wandering back across into her living room to sit back in front of her coffee table. Pouring a glass of red wine, she picked up a piece of chicken on her fork and popped it into her mouth. With a deep breath, her eyes focused on the white photo album that was sitting closed on the table. With her spare hand that wasn't holding her fork, she gently opened to the first page, her breath catching in her throat when she saw the first picture.

 _Harry_.

She could remember the day perfectly. They were around fifteen at the time and she had taken the picture with the muggle camera her parents had bought her for her birthday. They were by the Lake at Hogwarts not long after the term had started. He had picked her up in a piggyback and their smiles were wide.

The page turned on its own and her eyes widened when she realised that she had done that. Her mouth fell open slightly when the page turned again slowly, a picture of her and Ginny taken by Harry at the Burrow one summer made her smile. Oh how she missed her. How she missed them all. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville and the entire Weasley family. She missed them so much. A tear slipped down her cheek and she huffed, sitting up straighter. She reached down ready to turn the page again when she noticed the top of the page turning a deep black colour, the paper burning down.

"No! No no no!" she shouted out loud as the top of the page began to burn faster, moving swiftly towards the photo stuck to the page. "Oh god!"

Panicked, Hermione glanced around trying to find anything to stop the burning. There were no flames and she was thankful for that but this was just as bad. Her magic was going to ruin her only photo album that had pictures from her old life. Her only reminder. Her only connection.

 _Come on, Hermione. Think! What would Draco do?_

After a few seconds, an idea flashed into her mind and she smiled slightly.

"Draco," she breathed out, her eyes moving back down to the paper. She lifted her hand and placed it over the picture of the teenage versions of herself and Ginny and took a deep breath, her eyes fluttering closed as she thought of him.

 _Draco._

Her brain filled with memories. Draco walking down the river with her, eating pancakes in bed, Italian food in the office, snuggles on Draco's couch. Cuddles, laughter, kisses. _Draco_.

She opened her eyes, her fingers tingling and images of Draco swirling around in her head. She watched in astonishment as the page began to turn white once more, the charred edge changing before her eyes. She smiled, relived that her photo album wasn't ruined. All her precious memories were still intact.

 _Draco. Draco. Draco._

The pages flipped with every blink of her eyelids and she smiled slightly. She let out a giggle and moved her hand, the pages slowing down. Focusing on her food once more, she picked up the bowl and placed it in her lap, swirling the noodles around her fork and lifting them to her mouth. The pages of the album stopped moving and she reached for her phone, flicking through her more recent photos virtually. Ashleigh, Danielle, Holly, Zoey and Rebecca. They were all in there, happy smiles from happy times. Then there he was. Draco, his smiling face staring back at her. The picture had been taken on their second date and they were both smiling wide into the camera. She sniffed, tears forming in her eyes at the sight of him.

The sound of the door opening made her look up in shock, her cheeks tear-stained.

"Hermione," the sound of Ashleigh's voice echoed through the flat as the door closed behind her.

"Ash?"

"Hermione, we need to-"

Ashleigh's sentence drifted off as she looked up, her mouth dropping open and a gasp escaping.

"What?" Hermione asked, looking at her room-mate in confusion.

"Hermione, what the hell is that?" asked the blonde, pointing at something beside Hermione.

The brunette looked across in the direction Ashleigh was pointing to and her eyes widened when she noticed just what it was. Her wine glass, that was still half full, was floating above the coffee table. She hadn't even noticed that she was doing it. She wasn't even sure _how_ she was doing it considering she didn't mean to do it. Panic flooded through her as she looked up at her friend's shocked face.

 _Now what the hell was she meant to do?_

* * *

 **I'm really trying to get back into a normal writing/posting schedule but I'm struggling a little. I'm still stuck writing Chapter 20 of this so even though the idea is completed and mapped out, I'm really struggling getting it typed out. I'm sure I'll get there eventually!  
** **I hope you like this. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. I'm so thankful for each and every one of you who read this story and who have favourited and followed and left reviews.**

 **Also, if you have tumblr and fancy seeing some pictures/covers I made for this story then you can find me at sunshine-into-rain**


	18. Chapter 18

**Pancakes at Dawn**

 **Chapter Eighteen.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"Hermione?" Ashleigh's bag dropped to the floor with a loud thud as the door slammed shut behind her. "What's going on?"

"Ash, I-" Hermione was at a loss for words. How did she even explain this to her? How did she even _begin_ to explain everything to her best friend. How much could she tell her really? Could she tell her everything? A screaming voice in her head told her that she shouldn't tell her _everything._ Everything would be too much and the more people that knew about _that_ secret in particular, the more she was putting herself at risk. Not that she didn't trust Ashleigh because she did. She just didn't want her to run off scared. Then again, she thought, she was still here, wasn't she?

Leaning forwards, she reached out and snatched the stem of the wine glass between her fingers, pulling it back down onto the table with a shaking hand. Her mind was racing wildly trying to process what had just happened and what it meant for her. Not only had she essentially just outed herself in front of her best friend but Ashleigh was a muggle and the Ministry of Magic would soon be alerted that she had performed magic in the presence of a muggle. Then everyone would know where she was. She was fairly certain someone within the Improper Use of Magic department would talk after seeing her name. Hermione only noticed she had been simply staring at her friend when Ashleigh finally spoke once more.

"What the bloody hell was that?" asked a panicked Ashleigh with wide eyes. She took a couple of steps closer to Hermione who was still sitting on the floor and paused, still eyeing the glass on the coffee table with wary eyes.

With a loud sigh, she motioned for Ashleigh to move closer. Her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding violently in her chest. This was it. She knew this could go one of two ways and she couldn't help but feel worried. She didn't want to lose Ashleigh and if she was going to get a bloody good bollocking from the Ministry then she might as well tell Ashleigh everything.

"You better sit down, Ash." said Hermione as she reached out to close the photo album that still sat on the coffee table. Ashleigh remained where she was as if her feet were rooted to the ground. "Ash, don't be scared-"

With a shaking breath, Ashleigh took a few steps closer "I'm not scared of you, Hermione."

"You sure look it." replied Hermione. "Please sit down, Ash. This could take a while."

"I've got time," muttered Ashleigh, slumping down onto the floor beside her.

Hermione reached forwards, plucking the bottle of wine from the table in front of them both.

"Do you want a drink?" Hermione asked her, tilting the bottle slightly in Ashleigh's direction. The blonde cocked her head to one side and appeared to be deep in thought for a second. She seemed to toy with the idea in her mind before letting out a sigh.

Ashleigh gulped and took the bottle out of Hermione's hand, taking a long swig with her eyes squeezed shut. She breathed out heavily through her nose, swallowing the deep red liquid as her knuckles turned white against the bottle neck.

"Where do you want me to start then?"

"From the beginning, I guess." replied Ashleigh with a nervous shrug, setting the bottle back down. She paused for a second before speaking once more as Hermione nervously chewed on her nails. "Actually, forget the beginning. Why the hell was there a wine glass floating in our living room?"

"That's kind of the beginning of the story, Ash." Hermione told her. "Don't freak out, okay? I need you to promise me that you'll listen to me and won't run off."

With a huff, Ashleigh reached out and took Hermione's hand in hers, giving it a soft squeeze filled with reassurance. "Mione, you're my best friend. I'm with you always and I'm never going anywhere. I promise you."

The brunette sucked in a load of courage trying to force down the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Even with Ashleigh's words, she couldn't help feel scared that she would leave her.

"When I was eleven, my mum and dad received a letter from a boarding school in Scotland."

Hermione croaked out, feeling that this was as good a place to start as any.

"The school you went to with Theo?" asked Ashleigh and Hermione felt so guilty. That secret was not hers to tell, it was Theo's. However, she knew Ashleigh wasn't stupid. The minute she mentioned a school, she knew that Theo would be brought up. Ashleigh knew that she had attended school with both Draco and Theo after all. That much was made clear on the very first night in the bar.

"Yes." replied Hermione with a slight grimace. She wouldn't mention Theo no matter how much Ashleigh asked. She would leave that up to him. That was his story to tell after all, not hers.

"Okay.."Ashleigh was staring back at her, her nose crinkling slightly as a confused look crossed her face.

"The letter, from the school headmaster I might add, told my parents that I-" she paused, taking her bottom lip between her teeth, unsure if she should continue. Ashleigh raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her silence.

"Go on." said Ashleigh with a encouraging tone of voice. Her eyes were wide and interested as she picked up the wine bottle once more by the neck, gulping down a large amount of liquid.

 _Be brave, Hermione. She's your best friend. Trust her._

"Ash," A shaky breath escaped from between her lips and her entire body felt heavy. _Bravery._ "Ash, I'm a witch."

Loud coughing followed Hermione's confession as Ashleigh began to choke on the wine that was was in her throat. The bottle slammed quite roughly down onto the table, luckily not smashing everywhere as Ashleigh jerked roughly.

"Ash!"

"You're a-" Ashleigh tried to speak but it only made her splutter more, lifting a hand to her mouth.

Hermione reached around to pat her blonde best friend gently on the back in an attempt to try and help her. "Don't try and speak. Take a deep breath and calm down."

The blonde inhaled sharply once more making her cough and splutter again.

"Ash, you need to slow down. Deep breaths, okay? In and out."

Slowly, Ashleigh began to follow Hermione's advice and her entire body seemed to relax, her breathing starting to slow down so that she was able to swallow the last of the liquid.

"Are you alright?" asked Hermione, her facial expression full of concern.

"I'm fine," croaked Ashleigh, panting slightly. "What did you just call yourself?"

Hermione let out a sigh and smiled softly. "I'm a witch, Ash."

"You're a- you.. a witch? Like magic spells and potions kind of witches? Don't be daft!"

"I'm not joking."

"Really?" exclaimed Ashleigh, looking rather pale.

"Really." replied Hermione with a nod and a completely straight face. She really didn't know how she was about to react and what her next words would be. The blonde's eyes were wide as she stared back at her.

"Does that mean Theo-"

"Don't ask me about Theo, Ash." Hermione quickly cut her off.

"Hermione-" Ashleigh huffed at her, her smile turning into a frown.

"Let's move on." Hermione responded, shocked that her reaction was not more intense. "What do you want to know?"

Ashleigh's wide smile returned once more, her eyes twinkling with happiness and curiosity.

"Everything," laughed Ashleigh. "I want to know everything."

* * *

Several weeks has passed since Hermione had told Ashleigh about her magic. Since then, Ashleigh had been talking about it none stop. Her flat, which used to be a magic free zone was now her best friends favourite topic for conversation. She had cornered Theo a few days after her conversation with Hermione and basically demanded to know why he hadn't told her. When he had turned his head to look over at her, obviously knowing who had spilled the beans, Hermione had sunk so far into the sofa in the hopes that it would just swallow her up. It would turn out however that Theo wasn't mad at her at all. In fact, he was the complete opposite. He was happy now that it was out in the open and Hermione was finding him in her flat more and more these days. He was concerned about the Ministry but as several weeks had past and Hermione had not received any letter or any further news in the paper of her whereabouts, he was starting to relax about the whole thing.

Today for example, he had shown up at her door at lunch time with a large box of luxury chocolates in one hand and a bottle of very expensive looking white wine in the other. He had grinned at her when she had opened the door but Hermione had palmed him straight off to Ashleigh who was sat on the sofa, squealing with delight when he passed her the chocolates. Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes at the pair of them. All she wanted was a quiet day at home but that no longer seemed likely. It wasn't that she disliked Theo Nott, he was alright as it happens and he seemed smitten with Ashleigh. However, it was a Sunday, Hermione's day of relaxation and she loved to cook a Roast Dinner on a Sunday afternoon. It reminded her of Sunday's at home with her parents when she was young.

Ashleigh and Theo were cooing at each other on the sofa and Hermione had took this opportunity to leave them be and start preparing the vegetables for the dinner she was to make. The chicken was in the oven and cooking at a nice temperature and the potatoes were peeled and chopped, ready to be boiled up and mashed. She pulled several carrots out of her shopping bag that she fetched from the fruit and veg stall at the market that morning. She had just began chopping the carrots into circles when she heard someone clearing their throat behind her. She turned sharply, shocked by the sudden noise while almost slicing her finger in the process to see Theo leaning against the counter with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Can I help you, Theo?" she asked, turning her attention back to the carrots once more.

"Hello to you too, Granger." said Theo with a gruff chuckle.

"Hello Theodore," replied Hermione and he winced at her use of his given name. "What do you want?"

"Well since you asked so _nicely_ -" muttered Theo sarcastically and she immediately rolled her big brown eyes at him.

"Oh just spit it out, would you ?"

" _Fine_ ," huffed Theo. "Spoilsport."

"Theo, I'm very busy here so out with it!" snapped Hermione, motioning to the raw vegetables on the chopping board.

"Alright! I've let this go for some time now, Granger but I guess I'm just too curious for my own good."

"Go on?" replied Hermione questioningly as she continued to chop at the carrots, her eyes fully trained on the orange vegetables.

"Care to tell me why you're running from boy saviour?"

A loud smack followed his words and she jumped in a shock, a small squeak slipping through her lips. She dropped the knife down onto the chopping board and span around to look at Theo in an attempt to try and find out where the noise came from.

"What are you playing at!?" she partially yelled at him, holding a hand against her chest, her heartbeat erratic and threatening to burst right out.

"Everything okay?" called Ashleigh from the sofa in the living room as she flicked through the channels on the television. She was looking over at the pair of them in confusion, clearly wondering what all the shouting was about.

"Everything is fine, Ash." Theo called back to her, standing up straight and walking around the counter so that he was closer to Hermione. He watched as Ashleigh shrugged her shoulders and resumed channel surfing as she picked up a fancy chocolate out of the box. "Now Granger, care to explain that?"

Theo pointed down at the counter top and Hermione had realised that he had dropped a folded up copy of the Daily Prophet onto the shiny surface. She gulped and picked it up, the newspaper falling open as she did. She almost passed out on the spot when she saw the headline on the page, coupled with a picture.

 _Hermione Granger: STILL MISSING FOUR YEARS ON._

 _Today marks the fourth year anniversary of the disappearance of war heroine Hermione Granger. Known for helping Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived defeat You-Know-Know in the second wizarding war, Hermione Granger would go on to shock the world with a mystery disappearance that not even the Ministry's top aurors can solve._

 _Read the full story on Page 4!_

She glanced down at the picture below the first section of writing and she let out a small sigh at the sight. The picture was in black and white and was flashing with lights from cameras captured when the photo was taken. The young and very tired face of Harry Potter stared back at her. The picture was clearly taken years ago as he stood on a podium, a large picture of her face hanging behind him with the word MISSING in large letters near the top. This was clearly taken not long after her disappearance judging by his age and it looked like it was taken in Diagon Alley.

She glanced up at Theo who was staring back at her intrigued. Immediately she felt her guard shoot up, enveloping her and her entire body tensed.

"Why are you asking me this now?" she demanded, her eyes darkening. Even as panic began coursing through her veins, she tried her best to stay calm, trying not to let her feature change into that of fear. She could feel her hair crackling and her fingertips twitched uncomfortably.

Theo watched her eyes narrow and her hands tighten into fists and he held his own hands up in front of him, his palms facing her in his own defence.

"Hey relax," he told her. "I was just curious."

"I don't really want to talk about it." she muttered. "Can you just drop it? I'm not interested in being a part of the wizarding world any more, okay? Let's just leave it at that."

"Don't you miss your friends?" asked Theo, bringing his hands down to his sides when she noticed that she had calmed down slight. When she didn't respond, he shrugged and spoke once more."I mean, as much as he is a massive pain in my fucking arse, I don't know what I'd do with Draco."

Hermione laughed despite herself for a moment. Theo's eyes flickered to her own and the corner of his lips lifted into a small smile. It was good to see her smile again, especially at the mention of Draco. As the thought entered his mind, he couldn't help but think that maybe that was progress. She had been so miserable after all and he had been there to see it all. He also couldn't stand to see Draco upset any longer. He was driving him bonkers.

"I do miss my old friends sometimes," Hermione finally replied after she had finished laughing. "I just- I have friends here like Ash. I don't need the wizarding world any more that it needs me."

Theo let out a chuckle of his own at her words. "You're kidding yourself if you think the wizarding world doesn't need you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Hermione as she turned her attention back to the carrots she had been cutting. She had relaxed a little and she wasn't sure why. Theo Nott had become a permanent fixture in her life but she didn't think she trusted him. However, Draco did so that had to count for something.

"Listen," said Theo. "I don't care what your issue is with the wizarding world. You can live the rest of your days in muggle London and you won't hear me say it's wrong or ask any more questions on _why_ you choose to live that way.."

"Why do I sense a _but_ coming here?"

" _But_ ," said Theo with a throaty chuckle. "Life away from the wizarding world does not have to mean life away from Draco, does it?"

Hermione let out a sigh and ran the back of her hand over her brow to move a few strands of hairs from her face.

"Enough," she told him firmly. "Draco and I are finished and I don't need you with your cunning Slytherin ways trying to trick me-"

"That's just mean, Granger." replied Theo with a crooked grin. "Who said I would need to trick you anyway? Maybe you'll gather up some of that long hidden Gryffindor courage I know you still have inside of you and go charging back towards him."

"I highly doubt that is going to happen." Hermione responded as she raised the knife up and pointed it at Theo. "Now, can I finish my cooking in peace or do I have to chase you out of this kitchen?"

She waggled the knife in front of him and she quickly dodged around the counter and away from her, laughing as he did so.

"Some food for thought, Granger." he called back to her as he sunk down into the sofa beside Ashleigh, flinging his arm up and around her shoulder to pull her closer.

"Sod off, Nott!" Hermione called back with bite but a smile was settled on her face.

* * *

Dinner had been a success and even Theo had complimented her cooking. They had finished the day off with Theo telling Ashleigh stories of Hogwarts and asking for Hermione to pitch in every now and again. He had looked shocked when she had told him of some of the things that she and her friends had dealt with while in school. She kept a lot to herself however, not really wanting to tell Ashleigh too much about the war that raged throughout the wizarding world and how Theo and Draco were both on the wrong side of that war.

A few hours and many stories and glasses of wine later, Hermione decided to call it a night when Theo and Ashleigh began to snog on the sofa clearly lost in each other. She knew they had both obviously forgotten that she was sitting in the chair opposite them. She stood up, stretching as she let out a yawn and feeling her back let out a satisfying pop as she did. Her eyes scanned the room for Crookshanks and when there was no sign of him, she wandered over to her bedroom door.

"Hey Granger!" she span around at Theo's words and raised an eyebrow at him, too tired to do much else. He had pulled away from Ashleigh and was now standing up in front of the sofa."I've got something for you."

"For me?" asked Hermione, clearly very confused. She looked over at Ashleigh who was slightly red in the face from the passionate snog she had just been having and the blonde shrugged at her, clearly not knowing what he was talking about.

"Think of it as a present,"

"Why would you have bought me a present?" asked Hermione, her eyebrow raising even higher and feeling very suspicious of him. He wandered towards his, a slight swagger in his steps.

"Oh no, not me." Theo responded, a smirk making it's way onto his lips. "Hold out your hands."

Hermione sighed, exasperated and did as he asked, cupping her hands together and waiting rather impatiently. She watched as he pulled a small black box from his jacket pocket. The box was closed with a neat emerald green bow tied around it. He dropped it gently into her hands, threw her a quick wink and turned away from her all in one fluid movement.

"What is this?" she shouted after him, staring at the box in her hands. When she glanced up he was smirking wider than she had ever seen him, running a hand through his tousled hair.

"Goodnight Granger."

Ashleigh stood up and walked behind him towards her own bedroom on the opposite end of the room.

"Night Mione," Ashleigh called out as she trotted behind Theo, taking his hand in hers. Hermione shook her head and stepped inside her own room, smiling when she spotted Crookshanks stretched out across the bottom of her bed fast asleep. The brunette was about to close the bedroom door and undress when she heard Theo's voice once more.

"Oh and Granger?"

"Yes Theo?" Hermione called out to him, slightly irritated now. She poked her head out of her door to see him doing the same.

"Make sure you cast a silencing charm, yeah? Might get about rowdy in here if you know what I mean?"

"THEO!" Hermione heard Ashleigh hiss and her words were followed by a loud smack.

"Ouch woman!" Theo snapped back at her, rubbing at his head where she had whacked him with a rolled up magazine.

"Shut up then!"

Theo rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Hermione.

"Good night Granger." he repeated once more, winking one last time before disappearing into Ashleigh's bedroom followed by the door slamming shut.

Hermione scoffed and shook her head, closing her own door behind her and she flicked the lock shut.

Crookshanks stirred at the noise and let out a large yawn, stretching his legs out in front of him, his orange fluff ruffling as he did.

"Sorry to wake you, Crooks."

She took a seat on the bottom of her bed and stared at the little black box in her hands. With a shaking hand, she reached up and tugged on the beautiful emerald green bow, untying it and letting it fall away. She lifted the lid on the box and gasped when she saw a perfectly positioned teardrop shaped potion vial sitting inside the box. She knew what it was without even testing it. It was the potion they had made together, her and Draco. Below the vial was a white piece of parchment, folded up so neatly that it made Hermione smile softly. She carefully picked up the vial and lifted the note, placing the potion back the way she found it. As she put down the box, the note fell open in her hands and Hermione's eyes immediately scanned across it.

 _Hermione,_

 _I know you want nothing more to do with me but I can't let go of you. I only want what is best for you considering how much you mean to me. Take this vial of our creation and try to restore your magic to how it was before. I have a cauldron full if you should need it and I have complete faith in you that you shall succeed in everything and anything that you should decide to do. Also, it is worth noting that should you experience any magical outburst while at home, don't expect a Ministry owl dropping off a letter. A charm surrounds your building to hide any use of magic similar to the one I have at the potions lab. I just want to keep you safe and away from the world you're so frightened of._

 _Love always,_

 _Draco._

Hermione's heart thumped heavily in her chest reading his words. So that was why the Ministry didn't know about the floating wine glass. It was Draco, always thinking ahead. She bit her lips and closed her eyes as he began to fill her thoughts. A smile spread across her lips for only a second before her eyes snapped open, her face twisting into a grimace.

" _Oh god, Theo!"_

Hermione scrambled to her feet with her eyes as wide as saucers at the sound of Ashleigh's moaning, desperately trying to throw up a wandless silencing charm but her magic began fighting back each time. She let out a huff when she realized that it wasn't going to work, her fingertips crackling loudly and painful jolts running through her hands. She placed Draco's gift on her bedside table and quickly changed into some pyjamas before pulling her hair up into a messy ponytail. She dived onto the bed, holding a pillow over her head in an attempt to block out the noise from next door and the brunette prayed to every god she could think of that she would fall asleep quickly.

* * *

 **So sorry for the time in between updates. I'm suffering some severe writer block with Chapter 20 and it's killing me! Plus, work has been crazy so that hasn't given me much time to work on this. I'm desperatly trying to get this boxed off and I've only got a couple of chapters left to write. Then, it will be a new Dramione story. Please review and let me know your thoughts. All mistakes are my own with this so sorry if you spot any!**


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